From Another World
by Wanting Memories
Summary: As the group members seem to be going their separate ways, a young fox youkai meets an unusual animal in the forest who befriends him. Miroku makes his way to Kagome's time to find answers to his new problem. How does one new young woman fit into it all?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: You may note that the first chapter of this new story was posted as chapter four in "Never Mind." It was pointed out to me by a dear friend that it felt like a whole new story. "Never Mind" feels like a series of long drabbles. So...here you are. A new story. The goal for "From Another World" is to update it weekly to ensure I force myself to have a regular writing time each day.

I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I make any profit from this story.

Warning: Light solo play. Mentions of nudity.

* * *

Shippo found himself wondering through the woods absently. To be honest, he was downright solemn. His only stability he'd been given since the death of his parents was about to break. He was old enough now to properly fend for himself—an adolescent who physically appeared fourteen or fifteen in human years—and he had learned many fighting techniques in his travels. There was no concern for his health or wellbeing.

No matter how much Shippo told himself this, he wanted his family to remain untouched. He didn't want Kagome to go off to college and only come back two days out of the week. Sango and Miroku should be married by now. Shippo had thought the monk had proposed at one point! What happened with that? They had no business going separate ways.

The young fox wandered as he thought about his world crashing down around him, and he soo found himself in a clearing not too far from the bone eater's well. He'd been there many times before, the village had practically become his home though they had been on the road for so long. He knew the clearing well, and it was because his wandering distracted nature in such a familiar setting, that he let his sharp instincts settle and soften. So, it took him getting too close to the boarder of the clearing to catch the new scent.

He smelled something different in the distance. It was no youkai smell he could recognize, but it was not human. Its smell was slightly demonic as if it could be part youkai, but even that rational didn't sound right to the fox. This was no demon, but it was no human either. The smell! It was so close to youkai without being, that it was driving him nuts. Shippo strained to sniff in the direction of the source.

It was getting closer.

_Oh crap._ A new, unknown was coming at him fairly quickly, and it was probably powerful.

How would he fight it if he didn't know what it was?

Shippo had never smelled this scent before.

Followed by crashing through the trees in front of him, a small animal flung itself from the wood and landed ungracefully at Shippo's feat. She could only have been as long as his arm span, tail included. Shippo glanced up as he heard and smelled something very familiar. The ogre was coming right for them, probably chasing the—the thing for food. Shippo dropped his eyes to the furry creature before him. It was a red color around the head with white markings on the face, and with black legs and underbelly. The tail was red and cream striped and the narrow muzzle of this animal came to a thin point with a little black nose. The stark black eyes looked up to the boy before it and it opened its mouth and made a small "wah" sound. Then the ogre crashed through the branches behind it.

The little being spun around and rose up on its hind legs, holding up its forearms exposing large black rounded claws which retracted slightly as it flexed its palms. "Wah!" It said in a courageous manner.

The ogre actually stopped for a moment, large and hulking before the two red-heads. The minuscule animal's sudden confidence made the monster back up slightly.

"What the—" Shippo realized his mistake almost instantly as the ogre regained his concentration at the sound of a new voice and leapt suddenly at Shippo rather than the smaller being it had been chasing.

Shippo was about to hit the ogre with mushrooms when he felt strong dark claws nab his lower leg and pull him forcibly backwards. He fell to the ground, face down as he was very swiftly dragged up a very, very tall tree and dangled above the monster as he watched the ground fall further and further away. The tree bark pulled up his haori at the tummy and he felt it scraping him against his skin. Then, he was thrown backwards (in this case upwards) in an arch until his bottom landed on a sturdy branch and he was still. Dizzily, he looked down to see a peeved ogre about four hut-heights down. Whoa! Shippo had hardly even floated this high before. He gripped the branch with his palms.

The new animal sat on the branch opposite to him and made sharp "wah!" sounds repeatedly at the predator below. The ogre waved his large arm in the air and retreated into the woods—with no patience to wait or the animal or Shippo to come down.

Shippo turned his head to look over at the small creature that probably weighed just slightly more than one twentieth of his own mass. He couldn't fathom how this small being managed to drag him up this tree at the speed it did.

"You are what I smelled." Shippo nodded, more to himself than to the animal. "I smelled you coming through."

The small dark eyes stared at him without blinking for a long time. _Jeeze, part cat?_ Shippo thought.

She looked at him and slowly cocked her head to the side. The look was like a raccoon mixed with weasel with just a touch of feline. That's when the small jaw dropped as the creature breathed out slowly, creating a reddish glistening fog that reached over and settled around Shippo's collar. It smelled…nice. Very nice in fact. Quite sweet like the candies he cared so much for from Kagome's time. _Kinda like cinnamon..._

Shippo swayed backwards a bit, feeling lightheaded and very euphoric. _Nice…_ The boy was in love. He wished all wild animal breath could smell like this. He teetered on the branch and the small. Nimble creature was quickly behind him, supporting him. He sniffed. It was a she as he had thought. She was supporting him.

He wiggled his bottom a bit and felt his crotch had grown tight. The boy looked down at his lap and flushed. It wasn't a rare occurrence with his age. Inuyasha had even managed to bring him some comfort in that area when it first started happening a lot. After a dream where Shippo woke up sticky and weak, he had cracked down and decided he need to talk to a male. He actually preferred talking with Inuyasha about it, rather than Miroku. He figured that the dog was more on the same experience level with him than the monk would ever be. So, he and his friend had talked. He could call Inuyasha his friend now. Ever since Shippo had begun to grow beyond chibi size and added a decent line of defense in battle, Inuyasha had treated him with much more respect. Sure, he still got the "runt" nickname, but the half-demon didn't get annoyed with him nearly as much. Shippo supposed part of that was also because both of them were no longer as hyper as they had once been.

He reached down and touched himself through the folds of his clothes and whimpered slightly. He wanted to just rub it out, but he looked around at the public area he sat exposed in and realized he could never finish here. Then he looked to his new companion.

She was actually downright pretty. The markings on her fur-covered face were similar to a raccoon's, but not a match. The red of her coat was actually much deeper than his own locks, and this faded into a slick black at her legs. Her tail was very long and full for her size. It doubled her length easily. Shippo reached out his hand and touched his fingers to her triangular ear. She allowed him to caress her and he felt pure silk under his touch. _How'd she get so soft?_ That's when Shippo realized he was drugged.

He looked at his raccoon/cat/whatever friend and pointed a finger at her as he heard himself say with slurred words "You did thisstome. Didntchu?"

"Wah."

He swore she smiled at him.

He glared at her for a moment, trying to seem angry, but he was too mellowed out to hold any grudge now. Even if the Thunder Brothers awoke from the dead and came after him with his father's pelt again, he doubted he would feel any ill will for as long as this high hovered over him.

Still, he attempted to give the animal a scolding look. "What yam I supposssed to do now?" He spit out as carefully as he could. "We need to get drown from here…don't think I can transssform…" He felt heavy now. He was sure he couldn't concentrate long enough to hold a different form and float down that far. He'd fall and hurt himself if he tried. He wiggled a little on his newly established seat so high up, and also came to the conclusion that he would lose his balance soon on the narrow branch. He had to get down to the ground, but he couldn't rely on himself to make it there. At least he could still figure that out.

"I'm drugged, but my thinking 'sokay." He looked at the beautiful, sexy animal in front of him and pointed downward. "Gotta get down. I'm gonna fall."

Did he just think of this creature as sexy?

Before he could worry on it too much, she had him by the collar and was swiftly retracing her rout down the tree. Shippo touched grass before he knew he was moving. He rolled on his side, head lolling back as he felt his brain spin. "…too fast" he mumbled and rolled into a ball. He hadn't lay like this since he was a child and sleeping with Kagome. That fully stopped when he was old enough to need private time alone at night. He couldn't image sleeping by what had essentially become his older sister and jerk off. Shortly after his choice to sleep alone, he noticed that Inuyasha slowly began to move toward Kagome's spot every night. Now, they were sleeping together nightly. Shippo couldn't understand how Inuyasha could still deny his feelings at this point. More over, he couldn't fathom how Kagome could leave him for five days in a row every week.

He opened his eyes he hadn't realized were pulled tightly shut, and moved to try to prop himself up. He was still very unbalanced, but he could now feel the solid earth below him. He was able to hold his weight up on an elbow.

She was still there, looking at him. Those large black eyes taking in every movement and expression he let play across his face. Shippo was sure she was getting a good show. He still hadn't mastered emotion repression. Eventually, she moved to lay down, but that just served to place her nose closer to his where she rested her chin. Shippo could still catch traces of that sweet breath , but he couldn't feel it pushing at him the way the full out fog had. That was a good thing, he was still really inebriated from the first time.

"Why'd you do that?" He found that if he spoke slowly, taking his time, that he could get a phrase out without slurring most of it. "You made me all messed up." He could feel his crotch pushing into the ground, and his blood flow had not eased in the slightest.

It was such an intense look she gave him, he almost felt himself becoming sober from the sharp gaze. He could feel his mind returning to a sharper state. She almost grinned at him again as she opened her mouth for a second round of the intoxicating breath.

"Oh no…" He trailed off as the scent hit him again, and his length, which hadn't come down at all yet, throbbed in his pants. "Oh damn it." Shippo wasn't one to cuss often. He thought vocabulary was one of the reasons Miroku seemed so much more intelligent than Inuyasha even though he wasn't.

He rolled onto his back to keep himself from being crushed against the ground. He had to take care of this. He glanced around and looked for a semi private place to duck behind. He'd only need a few minutes. There were a few trees in the clearing, but they weren't very thick in the trunk. He couldn't hide behind those very well. Shippo turned his head to the right and found a small cluster of large rocks. That would do alright, but if he could get to the nearby hot springs, he wouldn't chance Inuyasha coming up on him and smelling him in the act. Also, people tended to call out when they were still in the bushes to make sure others weren't there. It was the most privacy he could get.

The animal looked at him then. He hadn't even realized she had climbed on top of his chest. She was so light weight. Shippo crossed his eyes to look at her and saw as she dipped her head to his collar. He felt her nuzzle at his neck and nearly cried out at the feeling. He reached up and grabbed her and pushed her gently but firmly off him. She bounded back up as soon as she hit the grass and began caressing his neck once again. He wrapped his hand around her to push her away again, but this time had little will to do so.

"No no no no no no…" He pulled at her weakly. "My first sexual experience with someone else ain't gonna be with a weasel!" He felt his "Inuyasha speak" coming out. He only used "ain't" when he wasn't thinking straight at all.

Then he felt a very warm moist tongue pull over his ear and he nearly bucked his hips. He grabbed her with more force that he intended and chucked her away from him. "No!"

He skittered backward panting heavily as he stood on wobbly legs. The animal rolled over and stood in front of him, looking a bit miffed, but not hurt. Shippo was glad for that. He put his hand up in front of him, palms out. "Okay you just stay there. I need to go take care of this." He was shocked at how coherent he was. "I'll come back and get you, but no more breathing in my face." He lurched around and headed toward the springs. He was nearly sprinting when he got there and he had forgotten to call out to make sure he wasn't intruding on someone else, but he could smell no one was there. No one had been there yet today. It was still afternoon after all.

He undid his clothes, which took way too long, and tossed them over a nearby rock before bounding into the springs. Shippo didn't often bathe with anyone else now that he was older and sometimes he missed that, but now he was grateful to be alone, and that no one would question why he had gone bathing by himself.

Falling down into the hot waters, Shippo practically grabbed himself before he was settled. He'd never been so needy his whole life, and at his age, he suspected that said a lot. He made room for himself on a fairly comfortable rock and began roughly working at his member to fix his brain. It felt great like it always did, but with how desperate he felt, he should have been panting and peaking at this point. He wasn't. He groaned and pulled at himself more. Finally he was getting close. He was sure it had been less than five minutes, but with how he felt, he had been sure it would be done and over with in just a few strokes. He felt the build and knew he'd be climaxing soon. He felt it, and he knew it, but his body didn't seem to. Just as he felt himself about to go over, his body pulled back, and his need resettled in the pit of his stomach.

"…the hell?" Shippo gasped at the force of his lost orgasm. He should have…he shook it off and began again. It wasn't as if he lost his hard on, he was still raging with hormones. He was so ready. It wasn't that. It was like he had something that stopped his release.

Once more he felt himself about to push over the brink, when he came back down. He began to growl out his frustration. He tried again. It happened again. And again.

He'd feel the build, but just as he would get to the top, he'd ease back down and start over again. There was no way he could stop and tuck the thing back into his pants and go on through his daily life. No, he knew if he didn't take care of it, it wouldn't go away. And he didn't want dog smelling his arousal all day and teasing him about it in private.

It wasn't even fun at this point. He just wanted it done, he wanted to be able to get out off the now too hot water, cool down, and go handle the situation with the new animal.

The animal. She did this to him. Beyond that thought, and the slight anger that came with it, he felt himself begin to salivate at the thought of the small furry creature. How gross. He wasn't supposed to be into that sort of thing. He was supposed to like other youkai, or half demons, or even humans. He wasn't supposed to get all hot and bothered by furry woodland creatures. She had smelled so much like a youkai, but he knew that scent was not exactly demon. Maybe she was something else? Something other than an animal and something other than a demon. Maybe it was okay to get off on her.

He looked down at himself and did something he rarely did; he snarled. That damned female had him riled up. Maybe it was her drugged breath; he knew that was at least a good bit of it. Maybe he did have a thing for furry animals, but he needed to get this thing finished, and he wasn't blind to see that every time an image of that animal came into his mind, his arousal spiked. He'd think about an animal if it helped him put an end to this.

He leaned back against the rock he was propped against and closed his eyes. He pictured the red-furred creature in his mind, and though it was weird, it was working. He felt himself respond more to that image than to his own hand. He sighed, as he felt the tension of his rush drip off him. His strokes slowed as he fell into a rhythm. The images before him started to flick and change. The furry female animal was not so…furry any more. She was losing her body fur slowly in his mind, as her head fur grew into hair longer than Inuyasha's. He also didn't fail to notice how her hips widened and her legs elongated and became less bent, the angles of the joints much less severe. Her chest grew before him and he saw the curve of her hairless back flow down into a newly filled out bottom.

He opened his eyes and felt more comfortable with this new humanoid fantasy of the girl. He felt himself blush and closed his eyes again to return to the image. Her hair was long—almost to her knees—and brick red, so rich and thick. She had no bangs, but she had a few markings on her forehead and cheeks. He couldn't really get into the detail of them because as his eyes traveled over her tattoos, he became caught into her eyes. They were as black as when he first saw her, but they were surrounded by white and distinct human-like eye lashes and eyebrows. He traveled down to her nose and mouth, which was still a bit angular and long, but completely within the realm of attractive humanoid features. Her mouth was full and nearly the color of her hair. The lips looked soft and when she pulled them back to smile, it exposed tiny sharp teeth like his own. Her ears were also like his, but sharper and even more pointed. The only aspect of her now that resembled her former form was that tail, which had retained its length in proportion to the body. It was fully the length of her body from head to toe and probably longer. Plush and full, it glided behind her beautifully.

In his fantasy she was no longer changing, and he was no longer observing. He gingerly reached out with his hand to touch a finger lightly to her lips, which seemed to call him in almost as much as the hair and eyes. As the pad of his finger reached her bottom lip, he felt the soft pliable mouth beneath his hand and that's when he bucked his hips and let go finally.

Shippo clenched his jaw and threw his head back at the largest release he'd ever experienced. The spike in arousal was so strong he could vaguely smell it on himself as he came. He opened his mouth and let his tongue roll out in a pant. He was coming back down, but this time it felt right because he had finished. He fell back against the stone as the last few tremors of his body subsided. He ran his shaking hand over his face and through his long bangs. "Oh thank you…" he nearly wheezed as he calmed. The relief was larger than he could have ever imagined. It was as if he had been sprinting for his life for days and was suddenly allowed to drop down and drink water from a cool stream.

He laid back against the rock and didn't think he could move for a few minutes. He just resigned himself to allowing his whole body to relax and his mind to easily clear from the drug's discharge from his body. He just jacked off to a fuzzy animal. An animal had turned into a girl in his fantasy, but it was the animal that started it all. He slid down into the waters until he was in up to his nose. The scent was already drifting away, and Shippo was glad he made it to the hot springs.

"Hello?"

Shippo's eyes snapped open. He hadn't even realized he was drifting off. He lifted out of the water enough to free his mouth. "Yeah?"

"That you, runt?"

"Yeah, Inuyasha. I'm just about done." But he didn't move from his resting place.

The white-haired hanyou emerged from the bushes surrounding the spring with a pink bottle in his hands. Shippo glanced at the container and his look didn't go unnoticed.

"Take it easy. Kagome said I was starting to stink and told me to use this."

Shippo nodded as Inuyasha got undressed. "Shampoo."

"Yeah whatever." The half demon slipped into the water nearly across from Shippo, but not so they were forced to make eye contact. "You okay with this?"

Shippo shook his head. "I don't have a problem bathing with people." And he didn't. He was just glad Inuyasha hadn't shown up sooner. The scent was pretty much gone now. "Can I borrow some of that when you are done?"

The dog held up the pink bottle and wrinkled his nose. "You like this stuff?"

Shippo shrugged. "It takes care of pimples better than sand."

Inuyasha grinned at that. "Yeah I bet it would. I don't like the smell much though."

"On Kagome you do."

"On Kagome it smells good."

Shippo rolled his eyes and half-smiled. Inuyasha laughed a bit and dipped his hair below the water to soak the thick silver through. Shippo watched and absently began playing with his own long hair. He used to pull it up all the time, but it was getting too heavy as it grew to all be shoved up on top of his head. He liked his bangs longer, they could be pushed behind his ears. He liked a single braid down the back because it wasn't heavy and it stayed out of the way, but he hated how it would swing around whenever he'd fight. It was actually long enough to pull at his head and mess with his aim. He'd tried pulling it up like Koga did, but it would usually cause too much pressure there now that it was past his waist. He liked it just down well enough, but it tended to get so tangled that way. He was finding he liked the top half pulled back into a high tail, and the rest left alone. It stayed out of his face, but didn't put all the weight on top. He also didn't have as many tangles that way.

"What you thinking about, kid?" Inuyasha was rubbing shampoo into his hair with a wrinkled nose.

He looked so awkward, Shippo nearly laughed. "Hair."

Inuyasha huffed. "Hair?"

Shippo didn't answer. He just looked away. Inuyasha would probably find Shippo's need for a good reliable hair solution a stupid waste of thought. The half demon never did anything with his hair other than wash it. Kagome sometimes combed it for him, but the man was lucky. His hair was a silky straight texture that didn't get caught on itself enough to tangle usually. Shippo's was sort of wavy, and very coarse. Kagome said that's why it was so easy for his hair to tangle. It had enough texture to catch on itself.

The image of the long dark red hair from the girl in his daydream came back full force then. It hit him almost like a kick in the gut and he felt a bit of arousal. It wasn't enough to bother him or get him hard so soon after climaxing, but he felt it settle into his stomach and knew it was more of a lusty emotion that would bed down there for a while.

What would her hair feel like? Was it textured like his? Was it jet straight like Inuyasha's and his brother's? He thought remembering that it had small rolling waves running down the length of hair. Probably if she were to cut it, it would be really curly, but the weight of the long thick hair held it down.

"Here."

Shippo snapped out of it. He shook his head and reached out to take the bottle from his friend. "Thanks." He felt the blush on his face as he dipped down in the water to rewet his hair.

When he came back up and popped the lid off the shampoo, he noticed that Inuyasha was watching him closely. He quickly began to rub the solution into his hair and was rougher than normal as he scrubbed at his scalp with his nails.

"You okay?"

Shippo nodded without looking up. "Weird day."


	2. Chapter 2

When Shippo made his way back into the clearing, the animal was nowhere to be found. It didn't really surprise the boy since he had been gone for over two hours. He could still smell the lingering scent of her especially where she had rested with him in the grass. She must have left only a little bit ago. He felt bad because he was almost sure she had waited for him. He said he'd be back. He inhaled deeply once more to confirm to himself she was nowhere to be found, then turned and headed back to the village to find Kagome and get some of her boxed noodles.

Kagome had been waiting for him. She smiled brightly as he entered Kaede's cabin and sat beside her. Sango had gone back to her village for a few days and Kaede was checking in on a pregnant woman a few huts down. Shippo hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to Sango before she left this time. It made him feel unimportant that it was the other mortal woman who gave him the goodbye from the demon slayer.

"It's almost done Shippo. Inuyasha and Miroku already ate. I waited for you though." She smiled and noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong, Shippo?"

He shook his head and crossed his legs. "You took longer to finish school than you were supposed to because of us, didn't you Kagome?"

That seemed to surprise her and she lowered the spoon she was stirring with across the pot. "Why do you say that Shippo?"

The boy youkai looked away and answered. "You said a couple years ago about taking—tests. Entrance exams?" He looked at her and she nodded. "Well weren't you supposed to go to school right after that?"

Kagome nodded solemnly. "Yes Shippo, I was supposed to go to college right out of high school. But, I didn't." She picked up the spoon and continued to stir. "Ready." She began ladling out the thick stew into two bowls.

"Why didn't you?"

She sighed as she handed him his bowl. He took it from her and she sat back from the fire and clutched her stew between two hands, looking into it as if it had the answers. "I…didn't pass at first."

"You didn't?" He was surprised. Kagome always seemed really smart to him.

She shook her head and pointed at him with her chop sticks. "Better eat or it will get cold."

He gulped down a little of the still-too-hot food to appease her. It seemed to do the trick and after she had bitten into a large mushroom, she resumed her explanation.

"I didn't have the proper time to study. It was while we were really onto Naraku's trail, and I just couldn't bring myself to accomplish my own tiny goals when so many people were dying at his hands. My family was always understanding about that. The greater good and all." She sighed.

Shippo stared at her. She had never told anyone in their group that she was neglecting her own life for everyone else's in this time. "You said…"

She looked up with a carrot in her mouth. "Hmm?"

"You said at first. So you passed the second time?"

She nodded. "In my time we can take classes to prepare to retake the exams the following year. I didn't, but I did have more time to study after we caught Naraku."

He looked down to his stew and took another slurp."So, you passed that time."

She smiled warmly. "Yep. I only lived one year as a ronin." She laughed at that.

"So you should have been in college last year?" Her mouth was full with another mushroom, but she nodded. "We weren't fighting anymore. Why did you stay?"

Kagome swallowed her food and sat back with a still half full bowl. "I…" Shippo didn't fail to notice that her eyes became a bit too moist before she continued. "I thought that if I stayed, I could find a place here. That there would be no need for me to go to college."

Shippo knew the rest. Inuyasha hadn't asked Kagome to be his girlfriend, woman, mate, or marry him, whatever she hoped for. He hadn't asked yet, and Kagome had given him a year. A year free of any problems with Naraku, without Kikyo, and with Kagome's nearly undivided attention. During that year, she had barely gone home for any longer than a few hours at a time, and Inuyasha often went with her. She gave him her full time. They were closer than ever, sleeping together nightly, sharing kisses now and then, but nothing said aloud. Nothing committed. He hadn't asked her, and Shippo always wondered why Kagome just didn't ask him.

"So what will you study in school?" He found himself asking the question absent mindedly as he raised the bowl to his lips for the last slurp of stew. He thought he might ask for seconds.

Kagome was finished with her food and had set her bowl aside to clean up later. She sat stirring the rest of the stew which Shippo figured was actually dinner and not lunch, but that Kagome had just made it early so he wouldn't have to wait so long since he skipped the former meal. Now she was keeping it hot without scorching it so that Kaede, Miroku, and Inuyasha might have warm stew for dinner. Shippo looked at her then and felt a large warmth spreading through him. He loved Kagome very deeply and he hated that she was always subjected to taking care of him. But at the same time, he didn't think he would have made it to this age without that care.

"Hum…" Kagome had been thinking while he had been. "I dunno. I'm thinking either nursing or journalism. Nursing would help a lot here and I already have a head start. I like helping people."

"Journalism?"

She laughed and waved him off. "Probably won't happen. I have a real love for gathering information and writing, but I don't expect I'll be constantly on the other side of the well. It wouldn't do me any good here."

"But you want it more."

She shook her head. "Not really. It's kinda boring unless you get the cool news. Usually it's education meetings and people bickering over minor details in the local laws. Plus, I'm not so good at sitting still anymore. Those meetings can last hours."

Shippo nodded, knowing she wasn't just saying those things. "So nursing?"

She kept stirring. "Yup. I could learn a lot about helping people. Doctors are the ones who diagnose and do big stuff like surgery, but nurses are the ones who do most of the mild to moderate work on patients. I couldn't perform surgery here anyway." She laughed. "I'd have to drive a small truck around with supplies."

Shippo didn't get the surgery thing so much, but he understood everything else. Even truck. Kagome had talked about them before and he knew it was no small cart.

"But if you could be a doctor, wouldn't you have more knowledge?"

Kagome winked. "They'd like you to think that, but no, not really. Maybe a little. But since nurses are the ones who actually do all the hands on work, it becomes second nature to them. Plus it takes years to become a full doctor and school costs a lot."

"How long does it take?"

Kagome scratched her head. "Well about eight years just in school, but then you have to do four more years of internship and residency. After that, you are a doctor."

Shippo sat back. "Holy crap! How long does it take to be a nurse?"

Kagome laughed while she spoke. "Two or four years."

Shippo fully understood why Kagome would have more time for nursing.

She smiled. "Anyway, I'll be going to a local college, so I can still come back here on the weekends and holidays. Want me to take that?"

Shippo hadn't realized he was still holding his empty bowl. "Eh, sure." He handed it to her.

Kagome looked pleased he had finished it. She put it to the side but stopped before she dropped it on top of her own. "Want more?"

Shippo considered but decided against it. "I'll have another bowl when we eat with Inuyasha and Miroku."

Kagome nodded. "It won't be too long now. I think I'll just take this off the fire and cover it. It should hold the heat alright."

The boy looked at the now young woman. He couldn't imagine her being tied up at school and apprenticeship for another twelve years. He couldn't imagine that long without her being here regularly. He also couldn't imagine that she would like it.

"Kagome?"

She glanced up from moving the pot to the side and covering it. "Uh-huh?"

"Maybe…" He searched for the words he wanted. Miroku could have said it easily.

"Yeah?"

He held his breath. He didn't like to get too involved with Inuyasha and Kagome's odd relationship but he felt he needed to plant a seed in her head. For how smart Kagome was, she was also just as stubborn as her dog.

"I think maybe Inuyasha needs _you_ to ask _him_."

She looked like she was about to ask him what he meant, but then a look of understanding came over her face. "Really?"

"I think so." He nodded and stood. "Yell when they get back. I'm gonna go searching."

He didn't smell her anywhere. He knew he shouldn't be concerned with that animal any more than he should with any squirrel that he might have run across. But he was. For one thing, she didn't smell like she came from around here. When he found her she was being chased, and while she didn't seem like she needed much help taking care of herself, he still felt a strong pull to know what became of her. He had also never heard of anything breathing on you and making you horny.

There was another reason he wished to find her, but he pushed it down and ignored it. He didn't deny that he might be truly attracted to the thing, but he didn't need to think on it either.

He decided a good way to find her was to lead her to him. She seemed to have taken a liking to him, and she would certainly know what he smelled like. Shippo decided he'd leave a trail she could follow back to his one stable place. Kaede's hut. The animal wasn't dangerous he was sure, and had after all saved his life.

One by one be placed some of his crying mushrooms by the well, the clearing where he met her, and sparsely all around the village. He trailed them all inward toward the hut, spacing them closer and closer together in proximity to the hut. The mushrooms were alerts, but they also smelled like him, and he'd just turn off their cries so as not to worry the humans around. The people also knew him well enough to know what his mushrooms looked like by now, and they shouldn't pick them and mess up the trail. If this didn't attract her, he didn't know what else to do.

After he finished, he hurried back to Kaede's, knowing he was already late for dinner.

"Jeesh, Shippo. Kagome's been calling you for about fifteen minutes." Inuyasha met him before he reached the hut. "What's with all the mushrooms? It smells like you all over the place."

"That's the point." Shippo kept walking, but the older male behind him stopped and watched him as he lifted the screen at the door and entered the hut.

"That's the point, huh?" he muttered to himself. Shippo had been acting strange all day, and now he was spreading around his scent all over? Well, he was at the right age to be marking his territory, but it was an odd way to do it. Maybe that's just the way kitsunes did it.

Inuyasha got his thoughts together when he heard his stomach growl loudly, and walked back to the hut for food and sleep. He found himself wishing to bed down sooner at night now that he was spending them with Kagome. He used to fight sleep, but not now. The dog demon grinned as he entered the shelter and closed the flap behind him.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

The animal had found him. She had awoken him from his sleep by nuzzling at him again with her nose. This time though, she simply nuzzled at his hand. He opened his eyes to the small thing curling between his side and his arm, snuggling into an embrace. Shippo was so tired he quickly drifted back to sleep. Before he lost the ability, he whispered to the fuzzy animal to stay with him.

That's when things changed. He knew on some level he was dreaming, but on another level it was so sensory strong that he had a hard time buying that concept.

Shippo watched as the small animal at his side fluidly changed into a young woman again. She was in fact a young woman, for she looked to be closer to Kagome's age than his. That's alright. Shippo had found out a long time ago that he liked older girls. Her face was so close to his as she watched him with soft eyes as she stroked his parted bangs behind his ear. She was much darker than him, and her mocha fingers slipped slowly through his orange hair. He gulped and reached out to touch her hair he had been wondering about before. He laced his fingers through impossibly soft wavy-curls and felt his fingers slide through easily.

"Silky…" he murmured "like I thought."

She smiled and bent down to lick his ear as she had done before in her other form. Shippo shivered, but he didn't feel that tight drug-induced hormone charge he felt before. Instead, he felt a soft drifting arousal as he ran his fingers more boldly through her hair. He felt her kiss the side of his jawbone then she rose back up so that she was in his view. That's when he noticed her utter nudity. He blushed fully from head to toe as he felt her press closer to him, her breast to his chest. They lay like that for a long time. Longer than Shippo had ever known he could be still for. His hand woven into her hair, her fingers caressing his hairline and ear. All the while, he felt himself maintain a steady want for her as his blood pumped strongly through him. Her eyes were locked with his, and while he knew his pupils could be easily seen against his light eyes in the dark, he couldn't discern pupil from iris in hers.

She lowered her head toward his and he could smell her breath again. Sweet, but not laced with anything. He could almost feel the pull of their lips. His heart began to pound and his face turned red as he realized she was coming in to kiss him.

His arousal spiked slightly at the thought and he closed his eyes to receive the contact. Only, he never felt any touch to his lips. Instead, he felt someone shaking his shoulder and whispering his name.

"Shippo, wake up. Hey runt." Inuyasha stood crouched over him, waking him.

Shippo sputtered at being pulled out of such a deep dream so suddenly. He looked up at Inuyasha, then quickly glanced around to take in the sight of Miroku, Kagome, and Kaede all safe asleep.

He glared at Inuyasha, who just ruined the best dream of his life. "What the f—"

Inuyasha quickly had his hand over Shippo's mouth to shut him up. "Quiet." The hanyou glanced around and looked back at Shippo. "Look, I'm sorry to wake you, but you were driving me nuts."

Shippo shook the other male's hand off his face and whispered. "What was I doing?"

Inuyasha huffed and lowered his voice so only Shippo could understand. "Are you kidding me? Take a good whiff of yourself."

The younger demon looked at Inuyasha like he was crazy, and then slowly lowered his nose to his sleeve. He pulled back suddenly as the wavering scent of arousal filled his senses. It was fading now, but with how well it was clinging, Shippo was sure Inuyasha could have smelled it on him from across the room. Shippo pulled his arm away and grew horribly red.

Inuyasha chuckled. "Its okay kid, you just kept waking me up. I know it's tough, but you can't be dreaming like that when I'm staying with Kagome. You were actually so strong smelling, you were affecting me." He laughed a little, but Shippo thought he heard a hint of nervous tension. "Almost jumped her."

Shippo's eyes widened, but he felt the words slip out before he could stop them. "Why didn't you?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and groaned. Shippo felt himself snicker.

His friend patted him on the head. "Do you need to go take care of it? Or do I need to sleep outside tonight?" Shippo realized that Inuyasha was willing to put himself out rather than discomfort Shippo. The boy remembered a time when he would not have done any such thing.

The fox shook his head and said "I'll go take care of it. I'll be back soon."

He stood beside the silver-haired demon and saw that he was beginning to catch up with him on height. Inuyasha wasn't overly tall with the monk surpassing him in height just by a few centimeters. Shippo's father had been taller than Sesshomaru though, and he'd hoped that he might beat Inuyasha's height when he got older. It looked more promising now.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing."

"Good then. Go." Shippo started to leave but a clawed hand stopped him gently. "By the way, you trying to bring in a vixen?"

Shippo felt his tail bristle. "Wh-what?"

"All those mushrooms. It's like you're trying to mark your area and pull in some mates."

His eyes widened. "That's not what I was doing!"

"Shhh…okay okay get going, runt."

"I wasn't," Shippo protested.

"I believe ya. Just get the crap out of here so I can sleep."

Shippo was pushed out the door before he could say anymore. That's when he noticed that he was no longer horny, but a bit angry. He decided to take the edge off by walking around and gathering those mushrooms. He didn't want people thinking he was trying to reel anyone in.

He felt himself brooding on the situation for quite a while, but by the time he was gathering up the last of his mushrooms, the anger and embarrassment had ebbed. He dipped his hand down to catch the last mushroom, scowling at how childish the things were. Maybe he would work on that. They were useful, but he didn't need the big gooey eyes on them anymore.

He heard a small rustle from a nearby bush and caught a familiar whiff. It was her. He nearly leapt into the undergrowth but rather than frighten her away, he cautiously approached.

"Yo?" He called out softly. "I'm coming through the bushes. Please don't run away."

He parted the branches of two fur bush and stepped through.

It wasn't the animal. The figure in front of him…had a _figure_. It was the girl version of the animal standing before him with eyes locked onto his. Shippo blinked and felt his heart thud. She was real.

The girl growled slightly and dropped down to a crouch. Her long hair fell over her back and hid her nudity better in this pose. She continued to growl at him with a lifted lip as she followed his movements. He crouched in front of her, making himself smaller than her to show he was of no threat. He also lowered his eyes from hers so as not to present a challenge, but kept his eyes on her mouth with the little sharp teeth inside.

"It's alright." Shippo felt himself cooing softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Remember me?"

The girl gave no indication that she understood a word he said. Shippo found that very odd since she obviously had understood his need to get down out of the tree earlier that day. In her other form. Perhaps he was mistaken. Maybe they weren't the same animal after all.

Shippo shook his head. The smell was exact. Not even similar, but dead on exact.

The girl had stopped growling and was now settling back on her heels just a bit more at ease. If the boy was going to attack, he'd have already done it. She kept her eyes on him though.

Just then, Shippo remembered he had a small candy bar stowed in his haori. He dropped his eyes and moved slowly to reach inside. The careful movements kept the female from jumping away, but the fact that he was pulling something out of his clothes had her tense again. Shippo noted this as he pulled the chocolate out of its wrapper. The crinkly sounds made small shivers drag over her skin. Shippo thought it was a wonder she hadn't run from him before he came through the bushes.

Holding out the chocolate bar to the girl, Shippo broke off a piece and tossed it into his mouth and chewed it. He exaggerated the sounds of pleasure from the taste, but his reward came fairly quickly when she reached out a brown arm to the bar and snatched it quickly from his hand. She moved back a few extra steps before she nibbled on the candy, and Shippo smiled softly.

There was a small moan from the girl as she swallowed her first bite, but after that the chocolate was gone in a flash. It was then that she looked back to him with expectant eyes.

Shippo sighed. "Ah, crud. Really?" He heard her stomach growl then and truly saw her body. She might have once been the soft skinned beauty from his dream with ample curves to spare, but now he could see that as she breathed, her ribs exposed themselves too much. Her collar bone was just too prominent, and her hip bones jutted out from her pelvis. Even with her underweight state, Shippo could tell she was not meant to be a tiny girl. Her pelvis was wide across and her hands were not dainty. When he really looked at her, he figured she was probably taller than him. Close to Miroku's height maybe. It was clear she was not just slightly underweight, she was emaciated.

Shippo felt himself groan; more at the state she was in, than the fact he was about to go out of his way to get food for her. He couldn't fathom how she had gotten so weak. There was plenty of good hunting and fishing in the area, and the girl looked like she was meant to be hunting by the looks of black claws longer and thicker than Inuyasha's which protruded from her finger tips. She might have been too weak now to chase down anything, but Shippo couldn't understand how she would have gotten to this state. It was as if she couldn't _get_ to any food.

He needed to tell her to stay here while he got the left over stew he hadn't eaten. He didn't figure she'd be able to understand him if he told her what he was going to do. He felt himself patting at his clothing to see if he had any more food on him. No such luck.

The…mushrooms? He'd never eaten them before, but he knew they weren't poisonous. He would have never left them out around children if he did. But…maybe she could be appeased with a few for a while until he could get her to understand.

"Uh…" Shippo flipped open his hand and on his palm rested a single teary-eyed mushroom. "Maybe you can eat this?" He reached over to her and held out his hand with the mushroom resting on it.

The girl eyed him over like he was insane, but gracefully stepped over and took the mushroom quickly from his hand. She sniffed at it and looked at Shippo again like he was utterly crazy, then turned and licked at the small fungi. She recoiled with an odd look on her face. Not of disgust, but more of shock. She licked it again and this time tried to nibble at it, but again pulled back and made a face at Shippo.

"Sorry. I tried."

She listened to his words, but didn't show any signs of comprehension. She turned back to the mushroom and was obviously interested in it, but not to eat. She kept sniffing at it, rolling it around in her palm as she pushed at it with her nose. A couple times she took her nose away and craned her face toward Shippo and sniffed at him. Comparing it would seem.

"Hehe…okay."

When the girl seemed completely entertained by the scent of his mushroom, the boy slipped away and jogged toward the hut.

When he returned to the bushes where he left her, she was still there inhaling the scent of the mushroom slowly. Shippo barely got a glance from her as he placed a covered pot down in front of her. He didn't bother filling a small bowl with the stew as he figured she'd want the whole of what was left. He lifted the lid and stepped back, knowing the stronger smelling broth would catch her attention soon enough.

And it did. Before he was able to settle into a sitting position, she had grabbed the pot and was tipping it up to her mouth, gulping the tasty dinner Kagome had spent so much time over. Shippo grinned, knowing that Kagome would be happy the leftovers went to such a good use.

She finished it all, just as he thought she would, then sat back—actually sat back on her butt, rather than crouching on all fours as if she was ready to run at a moment's notice—and burped.

Shippo's eyes widened and he felt his face crack apart in a large grin as he laughed. The sound made her more alert, but she was getting used to his voice and the noises he made. He reached out for the pot and pulled it back to where he sat with the lid and covered it again. When he looked back up to her he saw that same needy look in her eyes. She was begging for more food.

Shippo opened his mouth wide. She couldn't be hungry—but then he looked again at her sharp shoulders and understood that she could.

"I'm sorry. I don't have anything else right now." He looked at her and felt horrible. "Any way, you can't eat so much so suddenly after having so little—" or no food at all, Shippo thought, "—for so long. You'll get really sick."

She stared at him with moist eyes and he nearly screamed out in frustration. He was no good at tough love, but he knew she would in fact get very sick if she ate much more right now.

Water. She could have water, all she could take in, and it would help to fill her stomach some. He had to get her to a stream though. Luckily, there was one fairly nearby, but he'd have to get her to follow him.

Shippo reached out his bare hand, palm up, and held it there. She looked at it, but saw nothing being offered to her. He held out his hand until his arm started to shake. He wanted to walk over and put her hand in his, but he knew she had to come to him. She'd bolt or fight if he tried to take over the established distance himself. So he sat with his arm shaking, shoulder starting to ache, until finally the girl tentatively reached out and placed her hand on his. He wanted to sigh and drop his exhausted arm, but he couldn't yet. He lightly wrapped his hand around hers, leaving enough room so she could pull away if she wanted to. She did. He kept his hand out, palm out again for a short, but maddening period of time until she reached out again, and again he wrapped his hand around hers. This time she didn't pull away immediately. She held his hand, wrapping her fingers around his, then let go and pulled away. She was testing her ability to get away if need be, and Shippo understood. Finally, one last time, Shippo held out his burning arm, palm up, and she took it and didn't let go after he wrapped his hand around hers.

Shippo sighed in relief and slowly began to stand. He felt her pulling back and so desperately wanted to tighten his grip so she wouldn't slip out. He couldn't though. He could see her trying to yank away and panicking, then bolting and never trusting him even this much again. So instead of gripping tighter, he kept his hand consistent and stopped moving to stand. She stopped pulling back as he stopped with his legs bent, halfway straight. She gave it a minute, but then began to move her feet under her to stand with Shippo. Shippo let out a breath at the tightness in his thighs and slowly resumed his standing.

When they were both standing fully, and she still had her hand in his, he slowly turned in the direction of the stream. He slowly took a step forward and said a slight prayer of thanks as he felt her follow behind him without the link of their hands going taunt. She followed along behind Shippo as he slowly lead her to the stream. If she stopped, he stopped with her and allowed her that time. She always came back to walking with him just after a short moment. She was always just making sure she could stop if she wanted, that he wasn't going to forcibly drag her if she refused to go. Shippo knew this behavior well. It was how the few horses in the village tested their boundaries and grew to trust during their training. He had watched the process a lot over the past year, and had learned patience just from watching the trainers.

When they arrived at the stream, Shippo could have cheered. He lead her right up to the edge of the water, dropped her hand slowly, and knelt down carefully to drink by cupping his hands into the water and bringing it up to his mouth. She watched him, then knelt herself and did the same. She drank much longer than he did and with much more vigor. After, she lay down on the grass, spent and at ease. Shippo thought she must have been running on fear, and watched as she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. He himself felt like he had just been through war. His shoulder and legs ached, and his head felt like he was coming down from a twister. He watched for a bit, surprised at how comfortable he was with her nakedness now, even though he blushed every time he reminded himself of the fact. Her hair had splayed out and it almost looked like a fan drawn around her. She was indeed beautiful. Her face was too narrow now with her lack of weight, and her lips were cracked and red from dehydration he expected.

What happened to her that she couldn't even find water? Shippo frowned and unwrapped his haori from his waist. He pulled it off so he was left in his under clothes and gently wrapped it around the girl's now sleeping form, tucking her in as best he could. He lay down beside her and found himself wiggling over to press his side to hers. As he drifted off against her, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, he felt his fingers lace through hers. He fell asleep holding her hand.

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A/N: Sorry this is a day late. I ended up in Williamsburg, VA at a hotel where internet access would have cost me an arm and a leg. Frankly, I didn't feel like wearing automail for life.

Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

He awoke to a bare foot roughly nudging his side. Blinking his eyes against the sun overhead, Shippo covered his face with his arm and groaned at his stiff legs.

"Found someone to help you take care of it, huh runt?"

Shippo's nose wrinkled at Inuyasha's tone. He thought back to what conversation Inuyasha could be picking back up at this hour and failed to come up with one. He tried to stretch his sore shoulder out to shake the stiffness off, but his motion was stopped by someone else's hand in his. He pulled off his arm draped over his eyes and blinked again through the filter of his lashes. He turned his head and saw deep red hair pooling out from under his own haori. Shippo jumped back, remembering the night before. He pulled his hand free and sat up on his butt and looked at the lump beneath the blue fabric. The only sign the girl was naked beneath it was her long thin dark legs sticking out the bottom from the mid thigh down. Shippo gulped and looked at the dog above him.

Inuyasha stood with his arms crossed and rolled his eyes. He sniffed at the air and his eyes softened. "No…guess you didn't. Mind telling me what you're doing half naked with a strange female under your clothes?"

Shippo glanced to the bundle which groaned and rolled away from the two males, exposing a thin clawed arm in the process. "Uh…she was hungry?"

Inuyasha held his stern gaze over the younger boy before his face broke and he snickered at the implications. "Was she now?"

Shippo nodded.

The silver haired hanyou sniffed again. "What is she?"

He looked to the red hair trailing out along the grass beneath them and then to her long black claws. "I have no idea. She can't seem to understand me—but look." The boy moved the haori back to reveal a nude shoulder and upper back. You could clearly make out her shoulder blade jutting from her flesh and a short line of carved vertebrae. It was obvious she was severely underweight. Even more so than from the night before in the dark.

"Shit." Inuyasha stepped back and dropped his arms at his sides. "She's practically a skeleton."

Shippo nodded and covered the girl sleeping on her stomach. "I fed her the remains of dinner and she nearly inhaled them. Then I brought her here."

"And she can't understand you?"

"Not my words."

He looked over the mound of cloth. "Is is smart like us?"

"I think so." He let his hand reach out and stroke her covered back. "I saw her yesterday too."

The young man grunted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed, not really sure how to answer. He gave it a shot. "Well, I guess because she wasn't humanoid then."

"She was in her animal form."

Shippo nodded. "Yeah, but she could understand me in that form. Then I dreamed about her last night in this form." He waved his hand over her long body lying beside him. "But she wasn't starved and she could understand me. Then after—when you woke me—" He felt himself blush. "I came out and tried to collect my mushrooms, which I had put out for her in case she needed to find a safe place. I smelled her and was surprised to see it was the girl, rather than the furry animal."

Inuyasha crouched beside his young friend and clicked his throat. "So she's what you were dreaming about last night."

Shippo winced. He was going to hear about this for months. Inuyasha chuckled.

"Well, let's get her back to the hut. Think we can wake her?"

He shrugged, unsure of how deep she slept. He slid his hand over her shoulder and began to shake it. "Hey…wake up."

With an airy growl, she flipped completely over onto her back, taking the haori with her. Suddenly she was fully exposed and Shippo, who hadn't pulled his hand back at the quick movement, was now cupping her right breast. He grew totally red in a snap and thrust his arm away from the young woman, utterly embarrassed by what he just felt. Beside him, Shippo could smell a faint spike of arousal from the older male, then that quickly died when he gained control. Shippo glanced at him. Inuyasha's cheeks burned as red as his fire rat robes.

"Cover her up cover her up!" Inuyasha leapt up behind Shippo and turned his back to the scene.

Shippo wrapped her quickly and gathered her into him, hooking his arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders. She was heavy as he lifted, solid, but still very light for her build.

He turned and walked to the long white hair in front of him. "I have her. Let's just get back to Kaede's."

Inuyasha nodded quickly and they both quickly made their way back before another incident could occur.

Shippo nearly dumped the young woman on the floor when Inuyasha and he entered the home. He managed to gently place her in a corner of the room, rather than simply flinging her nude form away from him. He felt like a pervert, and he knew he was too young to feel so dirty about such things, but he felt it was cheating when he saw her body while she was asleep. He shook his head as he stood back up. He wasn't a pervert, he was moral. The strain on his mind lessened considerably.

The monk, who had been leaning against the wall opposite of the door while reading over a book from Kagome's time, nearly jumped out of his skin from the sudden onslaught of stomping noises and an obviously nude female—save for Shippo's haori—hauled into the structure. He pressed a hand to his chest and let out a soft puff. Shippo caught the motion as he backed away from the woman in the corner, and noted that Inuyasha seemed to be studying his friend critically.

"Your heart?"

Miroku looked at his adult friend and nodded, still catching his breath. Shippo remembered when these episodes first started a year ago. Inuyasha probably was thinking the same thing as he. They were getting worse.

The silver haired man walked over to his friend and rubbed his left shoulder softly. "Arm hurtin'?"

Miroku shook his head slowly and placed a hand over Inuyasha's. "Alright now. I've got it under control." He was still breathy, but his voice was regaining its normal calm strength.

"Did Kagome go home today?" Shippo found himself asking without meaning to.

Inuyasha turned his head to the younger youkai. "Yeah…she said she needed to buy her books today."

Shippo shivered. "I wish you could go through the well, Miroku."

Miroku nodded his face still a bit pale. They all knew that Miroku could go on like this for years and be fine, but they also knew that he could be gone in a year if his heart kept weakening as it seemed to be. Shippo felt himself swallow down a large lump. Kagome's doctors would be able to heal him. It seemed too unfair that just when Miroku regained his life expectancy from Naraku's death, he began having normal human problems with his heart. The carrot top had known that Sango, Miroku, and even Kagome would quickly succumb to mortality and he would lose them long before he ever grew to middle age, but it seemed too cruel to lose Miroku even sooner. He felt himself glance to Inuyasha. Even he would surely die before Shippo. Shippo felt himself vowing for the hundredth time that he would never mate with a human. He couldn't take his mate being gone within the blink of an eye to him.

Inuyasha interrupted Shippo's tangent. "Have you ever tried going through the well with the jewel or Kagome?"

Miroku looked down at his still clothed right hand—he would probably always wear the thing—and shook his dark head. "No…maybe I should before this—" he motioned to his chest "—gets worse."

Inuyasha nodded. "We'll try when she gets back. I'll hold one arm, she'll hold the other, and you'll wear the jewel around your neck, okay?"

"Who is our guest?" Miroku was already off the subject and onto the new woman in the room.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Shippo's mate."

The young youkai felt himself jerk back as blood filled his cheeks. "N-no! She's just someone who is lost!"

"What odd colored hair…" the monk murmured as he stepped closer to the woman, who had a few long strands trickling out from under her covering. It was only now that Shippo noticed the deep red faded softly darker until it was black at the ends. "And her skin, is she from Japan?"

Shippo shook his head and Inuyasha answered. "She doesn't smell like she's from around here, but she also doesn't smell like the youkai we've met from the mainland either."

Miroku stooped to get a closer look at her exposed arm and hair. "A whole new continent perhaps?"

"She isn't human—that's for sure." Shippo found himself looking over the beauty.

"She doesn't even quite smell right." Inuyasha wrinkled his nose.

The monk looked back to the young man. "Is she sick?"

Inuyasha shifted from foot to foot. "No…really thin, but not sick. I meant that she smells _like _youkai, but not quite the same. Probably a really similar race to youkai, but not."

Shippo inhaled. "And no human blood, so she isn't like a quarter human and throwing the scent off."

Inuyasha agreed.

Miroku turned back to the woman with a soft grunt. He gently reached out and plucked up her hand and placed his first two fingers on her wrist. "Pulse is strong."

It was then that the arm twitched and the claws extended slightly. Miroku, who knew youkai, human, and animal mannerisms well enough, lowered the girl's hand to the ground and stepped back in case she chose to lash out when she woke. The claws did retract and the girl, rather than leaping forward or striking at the males surrounding her, gently pulled the fabric from her face and opened her eyes halfway. She jerked back at the sight of two strange males and looked fit to run until Shippo made his presence known by sitting quickly in front of her and touching her hand. She was visibly soothed at the familiar face.

"Hey there," Shippo soothed.

She looked at him and glanced back and forth between Miroku and Inuyasha, eyeing them slowly. She inhaled, flaring her nostrils slightly, and studied the two men. She began with Miroku, sniffing at him casually as if she had smelled his type many times before, which made sense to Shippo since no matter where she might be from, there were bound to be humans around. Once finished with the monk, the young woman turned to Inuyasha and inhaled deeply. She quirked one eyebrow up and considered what her nose was sensing. She dipped her head back toward the dark haired man and sniffed, but kept her eyes on the hanyou.

"Heh," Inuyasha breathed beside Shippo. "Think she's registering the human blood now?"

"I'd say," Miroku nodded and folded his arms into his robes.

The female looked back to the dog and sniffed again before relaxing her body and sitting back on her bottom. She clawed at the cloth around her and drew it closer, covering her upper body with had begun to show itself in her effort to understand the new beings around her. Shippo noted that she did have a sense of modesty.

He scooted forward on the floor and pressed his hand to his chest as he caught her gaze. "Shippo." He tapped his chest again and repeated his name. "Shippo."

The girl blinked at him and nodded slowly.

Miroku placed a hand on his chest. "Miroku. Miroku."

Inuyasha followed suit. The dark skinned female looked at each motion and listened to each name being said, then nodded again and attempted to repeat. "Shhip-oh."

The young youkai smiled at her and clasped his hands. The girl pointed a clawed finger out to him and again said "Shhipp-oh."

"Mirr-oku," she tilted her head and looked at the monk. "Mir-oh-ku." He smiled brightly and nodded at her words.

Then the girl turned to Inuyasha. She seemed to take a moment to think on his identity and how to say it. Then pointed her finger at him and said "Inyash."

Shippo looked to his older friend and saw him crack a small smile, then corrected her quickly. "Inuyasha. Inu-yah-shah."

She squinted and repeated. "Inu-yah-shah."

He smiled and nodded. "Good."

Shippo reached out and touched a hand to her collarbone. At first, she pulled back just slightly, then breathed out and shook her head. Shippo's hand dropped slightly. _Didn't she understand?_ He was sure she had grasped the concept of their names, but perhaps he had been wrong. She looked at him in the eye and shook her head. Tapped her chest and shook her head once more.

"She doesn't have a name?" Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

Miroku spoke up from behind Shippo. "Either that or she doesn't want you to know her name."

Shippo felt his eyebrows draw together. Why would she hide her name?

"How about 'Inky' for now?"

The fox and the monk turned to the half breed and held a similar expression of confusion. Inuyasha shrugged and flipped his hair back over his shoulder. "Her face is marked with ink, so Inky."

"That's horrible." Miroku scolded. "She's not our pet."

Looking back at the deep eyes before him, Shippo spoke. "It's a terrible name, but she needs to be called something for now."

The three men puzzled for a moment and Inuyasha spoke again. "Kagome Jr.?"

"No," Shippo and Miroku answered in unison.

"What about—"

"No!" Both men turned and forcefully denied Inuyasha another chance with their eyes.

The hanyou stepped back and put his hands up. "Hey, I don't know a lot of girl names sorry."

Shippo rolled his eyes and Miroku scoffed.

The orange haired youkai rubbed his chin and inspected the young woman who seemed to be watching him just as intently. Inuyasha had a point about her facial markings. The boy hadn't really thought of them in depth because while they were complex in design, they were not placed in a formation that took away from her features. And, the fox demon had found that it was very difficult for him to look away from her eyes.

"Sumi."


	5. Chapter 5

When Kagome stepped through the entrance to the hut, she nearly dropped the matt curtain on her head in surprise. A young woman with deep brown skin and long red hair sat in priestess garb chewing on some smoked pork Kagome had brought to her friends a few days ago.

"Uh…Hi." She stepped into the space and put her bag down. The girl looked up to her and stiffened up slightly, but didn't respond.

Kagome stopped and looked to the boys on the opposite side of the room. Well Miroku and Inuyasha weren't boys, but—

"Oh well," she sighed. "Who's our guest?"

Inuyasha looked up at her with a mouth full of instant noodles. He attempted to explain but his words came out muffled. Shippo rolled his eyes as he took a bite of potato chips and Miroku translated.

"She doesn't speak Japanese. Shippo found her last night, naked and starving."

"Naked and starving?" Kagome sat between the group of males and the strange female. "And no Japanese?"

Shippo shook his head and crunched on another bit of potato. "We're calling her Sumi for now because of her pretty facial ink."

Kagome nodded and pulled a small candy bar from her pocket. She pulled open an end, peeling the wrapper back halfway, and held the treat out in her hand. The girl looked to her, then to Shippo, took note of the ease in the fox, and quickly reached out her hand and took the bar from Kagome's hand. Kagome closed her hand after the food was taken and pulled back her arm with a smile. The girl gave her a side-glance and smiled softly as she chewed on the chocolate.

Kagome clapped her hands lightly. "Progress!"

Miroku stood and walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome?" She looked up to him from her place on the floor. "Kagome, I had another occurrence today." He placed a hand over his heart to indicate what he meant and watched as her eyebrows pulled together.

"Could we try to get Miroku through the well to see a doctor in your time?" Inuyasha was now standing next to his friend.

Kagome nodded slowly. "Maybe if he held onto the jewel…" she fingered the orb around her neck. "He does have spiritual strength, so maybe it will work for him."

Inuyasha nodded. "We'll leave in the morning."

"Well, wait," Kagome stood to face the men. "Usually you need to make an appointment. I'll have to call the cardiologist…" she flipped up her longer sleeve and checked her wrist watch she now wore religiously. "Actually, there is enough time for me to run back now and call…we could see if Miroku can make it through the well now."She lowered her hand and looked at Shippo. "Will you be okay alone with her?" She thumbed behind her, indicating the newest member of their group.

Shippo stood and smiled softly. "I think we'll do okay. Will you be back tonight?"

Kagome eyed Miroku and shook her head. "I think we would be, but late. Miroku needs something else to wear."

"Couldn't he wear the clothes you keep for me?" The silver-haired young man stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She was used to it now.

"No…you'll both be there at the same time, and if he has to have a series of appointment, he might as well have a couple outfits." She looked at the two men, scrutinizing. "And while you two are similar sizes, you aren't exact, and I'm afraid Miroku wouldn't fit too well in a pair of your jeans, Inuyasha."

"Just what are you saying Lady?" Miroku scoffed jokingly.

"I'm saying Inuyasha has a pancake ass, and you don't."

Inuyasha's cheeks reddened at this, and Shippo vaguely wondered how Kagome knew so much about the shape of Inuyasha's bottom.

Inuyasha murmured under his breath "When did you adopt such language?"

Kagome smiled and tapped him on the nose."Got it from you."

Shippo felt he might puke.

"We have it covered here, don't worry about the kids." Shippo smiled and walked over to sit with the girl he named Sumi. She let him sit beside her without any outward signs of distrust. She continued to chew on her jerky

Kagome sighed and nodded. "Tell Kaede we'll be later than we intended." She turned and grabbed Inuyasha's hand then motioned for Miroku to follow them out the door.

"See you later, runt." Inuyasha smirked as he left with the young woman. The monk chuckled as he followed.

Shippo was alone with the woman.

He turned to look at her. He was pretty sure she had gotten the concept of her new name. "Sumi?"

She looked at him. "Shippo."

Awesome.

He turned around for a moment and pulled out something else Kagome had brought back from her time. "It's a hair brush. Works better than a comb."

The girl looked at the brush and held out her hand in her way of asking for permission to hold something. Shippo placed it into her open palm and sat back to watch. Sumi quickly pulled her long hair to one side of her neck and began to brush her hair at the tips. It was very tangled and Shippo could see the beginnings of a few dreadlocks starting. She started at the black tips and slowly made her way up into the darker red length, patiently unknotting some problem areas with the help of her longer claws. Her attention was focused on her hair as she worked, and Shippo found the soft sounds the brush made as it pulled through her hair was a relaxing constant.

He would have sat for hours listening to just that graceful motion but a thought popped into his head. "Hey." She turned her eyes to him, though she never dropped the brush or ceased moving it through her hair. He tilted his head. "Where's your tail?" He pulled his own longer puff around his body and motioned to it. "Tail. What happened? I saw you had one when I dreamed of you, but—"

He stopped suddenly. When he dreamed of her, she also had weight on her. Had something actually happened to her to remove her tail?

She must have been responding to the strong change in his eyes when he realized what her missing a tail might mean. She stopped brushing her hair and lowered the tool. She watched his face as his eyes drooped and an obvious upset came over the fox.

"Tail," she murmured.

"Yeah?"

She turned and pulled at her waistband. Shippo was about to object, but figured if she felt comfortable enough with him to show him such a thing, she probably needed to tell someone. She quickly undid her waist tie and pulled down on her red clothing and pushed her white up. She turned more and he had full view of her lower back and just the top of her bottom. He winced when he saw what she was trying to tell him. The area where a human's tailbone would have ended stuck out slightly more on her. In place of where her tail should sprout from her spine was a gnarled patch of dark skin and fur. Her tail had been removed, and it didn't look like it had been a clean cut from the remaining scar tissue.

Shippo felt small tears prick his eyes. His tail was so sensitive, a direct part of his spine, he couldn't imagine loosing it in what must have been a violent accident. He reached out his fingers, almost to touch the ugly scar, but stopped when he thought about what he was doing. He blinked back tears and instead pulled up on her red waist to place it over her curves, to let her know he was finished. She turned around and simultaneously tucked in her upper robes, while tying her lower.

"Will it grow back?" It felt like a stupid question, but he knew some youkai that could grow back such things as limbs and tails.

She stared at him as she finished dressing herself and sat back down with him. Of course she couldn't understand. "I doubt it by that scar…" he mumbled to himself, then looked into her eyes. They were emotionless, simply large dark pools.

"I'm sorry."

She blinked and pulled her brows together. At the same time, she picked the brush up from where she had placed it on the floor and resumed her work on her long locks. She kept her eyes on him though, Shippo suspected she was trying to understand his universal expression of remorse and pity. As if—it seemed—she was not used to finding such emotion for outsiders in other people. Unraveling a particularly long tangle from her temple, she turned away from the young male beside her, as if she wished to break the eye contact quickly. Shippo found himself again reaching out his fingers as if to touch her, but stopped and again pulled his hand back before he made a fool of himself.

"I'm sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for this being a day later that it should and for not being as long as I usually post. We had a slight family crisis (nothing big) mid-week, then we went to the National Story Telling Fest in TN. So, didn't have as much time to flush this out as I like. Oh well, you get some new information here. Thanks for R&Ring.

* * *

Miroku felt the world around him dissolve and reform as the time altered inside the well. It did not feel like he changed position or moved, but that the world shifted around him to suit his needs. He felt his heart race and he tried to keep his breathing in check to keep himself from having another occurrence as before. He felt himself grasp his chest as the lights around him dimmed. He calmed his chest and took a moment to look straight up from the bottom of this unfamiliar side of the bone eater's well. There was a roof covering the well. He breathed in deeply before watching Kagome grab onto a ladder and hoist herself up. Inuyasha looked at the monk as he continued to grasp the jewel in his right hand. His friend looked concerned. Perhaps his breath was still not quite under control.

"Do you want help up?"

Miroku was about to protest but thought better of it and slowly nodded that yes, he would indeed like some help. He felt his friend gently guide him onto his back—the monk was only too happy the dog didn't chose to carry him bridal style—and quickly leapt out of the well and into a dimly lit building. The two males beat Kagome up. Sliding off his friend, the dark-haired man combed a weak hand through his bangs. He felt alright, under control actually.

Kagome swung her bag and leg over the side of the well and sat up with a slight puff. Miroku envied her ease of breath. "Alright, let's go up to the house."

Miroku noted that the hanyou quickly shouldered Kagome's battered yellow bag, taking the weight for himself. He followed the two out of the small well house and into an afternoon sun. He found himself shielding his eyes with the hand that still held the jewel and he had to take careful steps to avoid tripping. The well building really was very dark.

His friend turned to him with a small smile. "Well, this is home."

Miroku nodded with a small smile. "It is an honor, Lady Kagome."

She grinned and took his unoccupied hand to pull him toward a rather large home by the monk's standards. The silver haired young man trailed behind.

When the three entered the side door, Kagome let go of Miroku's hand, plucked the jewel from his other, and hopped quickly into the kitchen as she looped the necklace around her head. "Oh Mom! I have someone for you to meet."

Miroku stopped in place while Inuyasha placed the luggage on the mat just inside the door. From around the corner, a woman with shorter hair appeared and smiled warmly at him. She was a lovely woman with an open face and soft features. Kagome didn't look much like her mother, but there was a similar aura that simply radiated from both women. Miroku would have known Kagome's mother anywhere.

He stepped forward and bowed politely. "Thank you for accepting me in your beautiful home." When he rose back upright he felt the new acquaintance hug him energetically. She pulled back with her arms on his shoulders and eyed him warmly.

"Miroku." She smiled. "I am so happy you've been able to make it through. I thought I might never get to meet you."

He felt himself nearly pulled to flirt, but pushed the urge away. "I am very glad to finally met you and visit your time as well."

She nodded. "Consider this your second home, dear."

Inuyasha chuckled behind him. "Careful, she'll have you running errands."

The woman's eyes shifted to the hanyou and she let go of the monk. She reached out both hands to catch his ears before he had the nerve to back away and managed a few tweaks before Inuyasha batted her hands away and let her hug him instead. "Welcome home, dear."

Miroku watched as his friend hugged Kagome's mother and blushed at the "home." He knew that was indeed how his friend viewed this place, but it seemed Inuyasha had not yet admitted it out loud to himself. He was probably still a little unnerved by having such a place he'd longed for so long. Miroku smiled and griped the beads he still wore around his right hand. Inuyasha actually had two places he could call home now, and the hanyou probably didn't know what to do with himself.

He had never had even one home before.

Kagome's mother quickly let go of her adopted son and smiled as Kagome came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Well, dinner won't be ready for another couple hours—" she looked at Inuyasha. "We are having a roast."

Inuyasha smiled happily. "I can smell."

Miroku couldn't smell anything yet, but he was sure it would be wonderful.

"If you get hungry before then, feel free to call the fridge your own, and get Kagome to help you if you need to microwave anything."

Miroku didn't follow most of the sentence, but understood he was to make himself at home. "Microwave?"

Inuyasha placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Dude, it rocks."

It was soon after Miroku learned where Inuyasha had learned the term "dude" when he met Souta. After that, he learned that the microwave did indeed rock his socks off. Though, he wished he knew what socks were.

* * *

Kaede had made them a wonderful stew, and there was plenty to go around since she had expected a hungry dog, a monk, and perhaps a slayer. Sumi took to the older woman a bit easier than either Miroku or Inuyasha earlier, not that she had mistrusted Shippo's judgment yet. The girl seemed thrilled she had a continuing source of food to fill her belly. Shippo really wanted to get to know her more. Did she have any interests beyond eating and brushing her hair? Shippo for one loved music Kagome brought back from her time. Souta, who he still had never met but might now if Miroku had made it through the well, had sent him "Christmas" gifts yearly for about four years. Shippo attempted to make some hand crafted things with youkai magic in return and from what Kagome said, her brother liked them much more than Shippo had hoped. Two years ago it had been a CD player. Shippo's world had expanded beyond belief.

Now the fox owned a small sack he carried from his belt at all times which expanded (thank you fox magic) into what could only be described as a small library of CDs without walls. There were several books thrown in for good measure, his favorite of which were two picture books about something bad that had happened about a half decade before Kagome's time and four hundred years into his future. Kagome called it the "holocaust" and the books were called _Maus_.

Shippo wondered if Sumi could even read in her language. Shippo wouldn't have learned if his father hadn't put high importance on education—even for youkai—and he had no clue how Inuyasha could read. Perhaps she liked art. Shippo still sketched quite often, but nothing more. He didn't paint or attempt anything that required a higher skill. Did she like sport? Shippo liked to play and have fun, but he wasn't much for the restrictive quality of most sports. He also wasn't as competitive as one needed to be to love sport. Maybe she would like movies? Kagome sometimes brought a small box and showed him movies on it. Even Sango liked the movies.

He heard a clatter as Sumi put her bowel down rather roughly and he looked up in time to catch her straighten up so quickly it was as if someone had shocked her.

"Sumi?" Shippo scooted forward to reach out to her with his hand. His fingertips barely brushed her shoulder before she was gone.

Before his eyes lay her clothes—the priestess garb she had been loaned—and nothing more. Shippo's fingers twitches and his words faltered.

"Wh-where…"

Then there was a quick movement from the small bundle of clothes. The young fox blinked and regained enough control of his limbs to quickly pinch a bit of fabric between his two fingers and lift it from the pile. He had removed the white robe and when he did and saw what was beneath it, he nearly fainted.

Sitting straight backed in the center of the red fabric was the small animal he had begun to believe he had mistaken as the woman who had been "visiting" with them that day. Sumi was still there after all, and she looked up at him with black eyes and let out a little cry as his trembling fingers lost their hold on the white cloth, and it dropped on top of her small stature.

Shippo puffed. "What's going on here?"


	7. Chapter 7

The traditional miko garb rustled in front of the fox youkai. A small white fur covered nose popped out, followed by a red forehead and large white lined ears. Sumi stared at the boy in front of her and it looked as if she snorted in annoyance.

"Well, well." Shippo's attention flicked to Kaede as she made her way over to the pile of clothes and knelt down. "What do we have here? Is this your beast form young one?"

Shippo looked at the older woman. It did make sense now that she brought it up, after all Sesshomaru changed into a giant dog sometimes, and Shippo himself would transform into his beast after he had gone through what Kagome called "puberty." A large fox about the size of Kirara.

A small "wahhh" sounded from the tiny red animal, and Kaeda laughed softly. "Why she looks like a cross between a fox and a raccoon dog!"

Shippo's nose wrinkled. "She's not. She doesn't smell like either."

"Hm." Was all the old priestess said to his comment. "Now it may just have been from where I was sitting, but it didn't look like you meant to turn into the beast."

The boy watching the animal scratched his head. The only time he'd ever transformed without meaning to was when he was so angry and in-depth battle mode. Sumi hadn't looked strained at all. "Sumi, can you understand me in this form?"

She turned at the name but didn't respond. Her black eyes looked into his before lightly leaping from the bundle of clothes and into his lap. She settled herself quickly and nuzzled at his hand.

"She certainly has taken a liking to you—even her beast is comfortable Shippo."

He nodded. "Do you think Myoga might know what she is? She's not from the Island."

"I think he'd be more likely to understand her than either of us. She doesn't quite give off the same aura as a full youkai. What does she smell like?"

Shippo's brows pulled together as he rubbed his palm over soft fur. "She's pure blooded, whatever she is, but it's not youkai. It's so similar, but just…off. Why can't she control her beast?"

"I cannot fathom, my dear."

She grunted but remained quiet as he felt the tiny creature's breathing shift into a more even pattern and he knew she was asleep. So quickly. He brushed fingertips over her ears and they twitched under his touch. He moved to simply stroke her back and he felt a slight grumble from her chest. He raised an eyebrow and smiled softly.

"Kaede?"

"Yes child?" She was still stooped to watch him.

He looked at her with a grin. "I think she's purring."

The old woman's face wrinkled more as a smile stretched across her features as well.

"You are good for her, Shippo."

* * *

Kagome came skipping out from the kitchen into the dinning room. "We have it all set up. Miroku you have an appointment not tomorrow but the next day at 11:45."

The man with the short ponytail turned from his seat on the couch. "Kagome, this tel-o-vision is astounding!" The hanyou beside of him smirked.

Kagome looked beyond them and sighed. They were watching one of the dumbest shows on TV in her opinion. It was a rerun (her grandfather watched it, so she often caught sight of it) and it showed some stupid school girls watching a prairie dog in a cage. Oh yeah…that's where that popular clip on the internet came from. She quietly thought that she'd wait to show Miroku the internet for later.

She smiled at him."That's great, but did you even hear what I said?"

He bowed from his seat. "Yes Lady Kagome, I apologize and thank you very much for concerning yourself with my health. Now will he expect payment?"

Kagome nodded and rested her weight on one leg, popping out her hip a bit. She noted that Inuyasha eyed that motion before turning back to the screen and changing it with the remote. Now they watched a much more tolerable anime that Souta often watched.

Miroku's attention was back on the screen. "Goodness the blood. I've been in many battles and I've never seen so much red."

"Miroku, the doctor will want money from you, but for now we can pay for it." She watched his face as he turned to her again. "I'm willing to bet you will have multiple visits though, and maybe even medication." She didn't mention the possibilities for surgery. "And, well that does get expensive."

She saw Miroku think. "Is there any need of exorcists in your time?"

Kagome stifled a laugh. "No, sorry to say."

Inuyasha chimed in. "We could pimp you out."

Miroku looked at him. "'Pimp?'"

Kagome waved him off. "Never mind him. Miroku, what other skills do you have?"

The monk thought for a moment. "Well, I can do minor medical tasks, but from what you've said you need years of training and official seals to practice here." She nodded. "I can fight, but I don't see that being a need in your time, unless I could gain some students."

The young woman tapped her chin with her finger. "Well people do pay for that, but you'd need a business license and that takes months and often requires proof of citizenship."

"Yikes, Kagome. Does everything require government approval in your time?"

"Pretty much." She sighed and sat down in the far chair. "We could fudge your resume and get you to teach night theology classes I guess, but they usually do thorough background checks."

She watched distractedly as her brother came downstairs from where he had been finishing homework in his room. He had already started back to school. The teen jumped the last step and walked past the couch to sit in the chair opposite of his sister.

"Like the TV?" She watched as Miroku nodded at Souta.

Kagome claped her hands. "Well, we can think about it after dinner while we are buying both of you some new clothes."

Her brother in middle school looked at her and pointed at his own chest in question. "No not you. The other two males in the room. You can come though."

Shippo thought about it. "Yeah that would work for me."

Inuyasha stood up and streatched handing the remote to the younger boy in the chair. "Oi why do I need more clothes?"

Kagome smiled crooked. "Because the new moon in is the day after tomorrow also."

"So? I don't changes pants size when I'm human."

She giggled. "No I know. I want to take Miroku out on the town. It will be Saturday night and there are a lot of thing to do on a Saturday."

"I can go out with my regular clothes I keep her, Kagome."

Miroku tugged on his sleeve. "Inuyasha." The silver-haired male bent to listen to the monk whisper, even though the man made a point to keep it at a loud whisper level so the others could hear. "I think she wants to court you. You know…what she calls a 'date.' She'll want you to look nice."

That's when the hanyou's cheeks flushed and he stammered before quickly walking into the kitchen. Souta was snorting from the chair and clicked the TV off as he followed. Kagome covered her mouth with her hand and eyed Miroku.

"Thank you." She smiled and stood. "Well…ready for dinner?"

He smiled and realized he was going to like Kagome's time. "I believe I am. Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

"Remember, gather the mushrooms and avoid the toadstools. You remember how I taught you the difference?"

Shippo nodded to the old priestess as he stood outside her hut with a fury Sumi tucked under his arm. "Yes Lady Kaede, I remember."

She nodded. "Good, now be quick, dinner will be finished soon and I want those ready for tomorrow's stew."

Shippo didn't need anymore encouragement. He turned and scampered toward the forest with the red furred creature. She had napped and when she finished dozing, the animal seemed even more annoyed than before. It was something about her eyes and the way she'd snort so often. He was sure she wasn't annoyed with him, but with the fact that she had no control over her beast.

He soon came upon a patch of mushrooms. He looked at Sumi and placed her down to the ground gently. He plucked a mushroom and held it up to her nose.

"Looks like you have pretty agile hands in this form, so you can help me look for these. We need them for more food tomorrow."

She looked at him for a moment, taking in the situation, then grasped the small fungus in her front paws.

The fox nodded in approval. "There now you see? We'll be looking for those."

She glanced at him and placed the mushroom down then ran off.

"Hey!" Shippo called out.

She paused and looked back at him, sitting back on her haunches. She then plucked a small mushroom from beside her and held it up into his view.

"Oh," he breathed. "Just don't wander off."

She turned back to her task and Shippo did the same, all the while thinking on the turns his life had taken in the last two days.

* * *

"You like purple." The young woman handed the monk a stack of shirts with the hangers still on them.

He took them into his already too full arms, the cloth draped across his elbows so that the metal of the hangers clacked together. "But, Kagome!" He fought with the pile to keep it balanced. "I do like other colors just as well."

Inuyasha stood behind the two smirking, wearing his Kagome-time jeans and tee shirt with a ball cap. He had his arms crossed over his chest with a fang showing through his crooked smile.

"Oi, Kagome?"

She stopped fingering a helpless polo shirt and turned to face the hanyou. "Yes?"

He smiled more evenly, losing the toothy grin. "Why don't you just let him look around and see what he likes?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, he'll pick dresses or something."

Miroku sighed from behind the tower of fabric. Inuyasha took the girl's hand into his and pulled her gently away.

"Kagome, didn't you want to…" he felt himself blush.

"Shop for you?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She seemed to consider this for a moment. "Alright, I think Miroku has better taste than you anyway. He could probably handle himself."

The silver-haired wrinkled his nose. "Hey—"

"Miroku, you feel alright to look by yourself?"

The monk nodded desperately. "I shall meet you at the fitting rooms you showed me."

She smiled and turned back to the other male, taking her hand in his. "You…really would like to shopping?"

He rolled his eyes. "Not like I care what I look like."

"Oh."

He looked back at her and thought he saw the beginning of a pout. "Ah, but…eh I do want our 'date' to go well, after all."

She nearly beamed at him.

"Heh." He felt his face redden. "So, what's good looking for a date?"

She smiled wide and began to drag him to another section of the store.

* * *

Shippo knew that something was wrong. He knew that he should have been in Inuyasha's Forest. He knew that he should have been able to smell Kaede's villiage. He couldn't smell it, and he wasn't in the forest. He could still smell her, though, and the mushrooms she had on her person. She was very close.

The young fox youkai opened his eyes slowly. He could see a wall through the darkness directly in front of his face. He was sitting up, rather than lying back, and he was leaning on something damp and hard. He turned his face to look behind him to an identical wall with mildew growing. He wrinkled his nose and wondered how he didn't notice that before. Craning his neck, he swept his eyes over the rest of the cell—it was a cell after all what else had three four solid stone walls with a small locked door with barred windows? There weren't even windows to the outside, and the hallway the one on the door must have looked into was as dark as his cell.

There was movement from the far corner and he tried to see what it came from. It was even too dark for him to seen in the small, dank room. He sniffed again—he could smell Sumi lightly, but she couldn't be in the room with him from how faded that scent was. He couldn't smell the intruder.

"Wh-who are you?" He felt himself push back against the wall as the lump of shadow shifted. It looked as if it were coming closer. In this light, he couldn't even tell what size the creature was. Or if it was humanoid. The shadow moved forward again with a soft sloshing sound.

"Stop!" Shippo shut his eyes. Never had he been this utterly horrified before. He'd never admit this to anyone—not even Kagome—but he was still slightly afraid of the dark. His mind was too active and shadows often crept into strange forms when it was too dark. It was surely _too_ dark.

The movements had stopped at his command, and Shippo could now vaguely tell that it was in fact humanoid in body form. Shippo decided to shed some light on the situation. He reached into his satchel he kept on his belt, but felt nothing but tiny stones inside it. He growled under his breath. Everything he owned he kept at his belt with fox magic. Someone had taken everything out of his sack and left him there without his devices. He pulled his eyebrows together. Well, why wouldn't the thief simply take the sack. It would have been much simpler than cleaning out all his worldly goods.

He shook his hand amongst the pebbles. He hadn't remembered putting those in there either.

He wanted his flashlight Kagome had bought him so badly.

Whatever was sharing his cell with him had remained quiet and respectful. Shippo felt himself sigh at that, and he relaxed back into the wall a bit more. He'd hate to sniff his hair after he got out. He smiled softly and held back a laugh. After all he'd been through with his friends, he would always just assume he'd get out of everything.

Looking down, he realized he hadn't removed is hand from his sack. He went ahead and did that.

"Shippo?"

He jerked back and looked at the shadow. The voice was raspy and controlled, be he knew who it belonged to.

With a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and spoke. "Oh thank you. Sumi."


	9. Chapter 9

"The warmth in his voice and the change in his attitude must have called to something within her, and Shippo heard the woman quickly scuttle over to him and sit so that her shoulder rested against him. He felt his fingers shamelessly reach out and weave through hers, resting their hands on his leg. Normally he'd be too shy to make such a move, but he didn't even think about it. He needed her contact. The contact of a person who he could protect, yet could also protect him. He felt her sigh and squeeze her fingers between his.

"Shippo?"

He turned his head to look at her. She still smelled like she was muffled, as if she were in a cell next to him, rather than right beside him. It was then that Shippo realized that there was probably a binding on the cell or building that hindered youkai powers.

He winced at the thought. "Awesome."

She shook his shoulder. "Shippo?"

He looked at her again. "Sumi?"

Her eyes were large and her brows pulled together. She looked alarmed, but he knew she couldn't communicate at thing to him. "Shippo!" She spoke with a sharpness she hadn't held before.

Shippo flicked his eyes around the room, still annoyed by his lack of vision. He sniffed and smelled something slightly—off.

"Shippo." Quietly, she pulled on his haori sleeve.

"I hear you…" He mumbled softly and stood in place and fixed his gaze to the opposite wall, where he assumed another cell stood. "If there is someone here with us, please answer me."

He waited for a moment before repeating his request. "Answer, now."

There was a rustle from beyond the wall and a slight grunt, which Shippo could tell was feminine in nature. A voice from beyond the stone cleared and roughly squawked. "Wh-who is it?"

He felt he should know this voice, but could not make it out beyond the jagged edges. He began to open his mouth to answer, but then heard a heavy door unlatch at the end of the hall. A small amount of light entered the tiny holding area, and Shippo felt it was in his best interest to hush up and sit back down next to Sumi. A heavy set of footsteps drew closer, yet stopped at the cell with the female whose voice sounded as if it hadn't been used in months.

Heavy boots with metal chains on them shifted from side to side as if the wearer weren't confident. "Come out." A loud _chunk_ sound as a key unlocked the neighbor cell. Shippo could vaguely make out that the guard was a youkai. Panther youkai from the scent. He was a bit taken aback by this knowledge. Panthers were almost always self-confident.

He heard the female shuffle to the door and the panther cuff her—from what it sounded like—and lead her into the small hall. Shippo bit his tongue and held back his desire to call out to the youkai. Instead, he simply held Sumi's hand and looked in her eyes. She was wide-eyed and clearly confused as she stared back.

Shippo blinked.

Not confused. He tilted his head as he looked at her. Frightened.

* * *

Miroku liked the new clothes, and he couldn't stop touching them as he walked out of the department store with his friends. He didn't know what Inuyasha had gotten, but he saw Kagome by some new jewelry. She said it was costume, meaning pretty but inexpensive. Really very practical, the monk thought.

The three were in a "mall" and Kagome wanted to take them for ice cream, a dessert she said was wonderful. Miroku was sure it would be.

"Kagome, I wonder if—" Miroku looked up from his clothes in the bag and looked around and saw no Kagome or Inuyasha. He'd done this several times already on this visit. There was too much to look at, and he found he wandered off from the two while not paying attention. He was standing just outside of the store they shopped in, and was facing what looked like an indoor town square to him with metal seats. He was about to turn back and look for the two but saw a newly familiar face. He stopped and stared across the square to a far bench where a young woman sat, wearing what Kagome had told him was a business suit. Her long red hair was pinned up into a twist, but there was no mistaking the black tips that fanned out of the top of the clip.

"Dear Buddha." Miroku dropped the bag from his arms and let it hang from his fingers. He felt his feet go on without his consent as he rushed across the way to the woman. He stopped in the center of the floor when he saw her stand and turn in his direction to reveal pale skin and Japanese features. It was not Sumi.

Miroku let out a breath. That would have been very odd indeed. He turned to head back to the store, when he bumped his head against something equally as hard. The monk stumbled backwards and rubbed his new pain. "Owe." Opening his eyes, he saw that he had bumped into a young woman who was now rubbing between her eyes.

"Oh Christ…Sorry, I totally wasn't looking."

Miroku couldn't understand a word she said. "Excuse me?" He finished rubbing his head and looked at the woman.

She seemed to struggle for a moment, then with a thin accent Miroku couldn't place, she switched to Japanese. "I apologize. Switched into English after the pain kicked in." She was still rubbing her nose.

He nodded. He didn't know English, but could figure it was her native language. She was clearly not Japanese with her light brown hair, and a green color to her eyes he'd only seen in youkai before. She was also his height, and he wasn't short. "I apologize also. I was barely aware of where I was."

She took a moment to absorb what he said, but when she did she laughed through her hand still folded over her nose. He began to grin at her because any other time it would have been an utterly endearing mannerism, but when blood shot out of her nose and through the bottom of her hand, the effect was ruined. Miroku immediately stripped off the "hoodie" Inuyasha had loaned him and pressed it to her face.

"Oh my, I am very sorry. Here take this."

She grabbed onto the cloth without so much as glancing at what the garment was, and pressed it to her nose, taking control. Through her muffled laughs—yes she was still laughing—he could make out her apologies again and admissions to her embarrassment.

"Uh, is there a place where we can get you cleaned up?"

She nodded and pointed toward two doors, one which said "men," the other "women." Miroku grabbed her free hand and lead her toward the one marked "women" and walked smoothly through the doors. He heard her squeak as she followed him into the women's bathroom and he quickly turn to wet a paper towel under the sink.

"You're not shy at all!" Her voice was muffled as she took the damp paper towel and covered her nose again. She looked up at him as he pushed his bag of clothes under his arm and grabbed her another paper towel, but didn't wet this one. She took it and mumbled a thanks.

"Feeling better?" The young man with the earring asked as he leaned against the counter.

The woman thought perhaps she had made a mistake coming into the bathroom with a strange guy with a pony tail and earrings. Alone. She dabbed her nostrils and nodded to answer the man.

He gave her a brilliant smile and she visibly relaxed. _Stupid, anyone with a great smile could use me to experiment with nukes and I'd never complain_. None-the-less, she leaned back against the counter and smiled through the paper towel.

* * *

Inuyasha couldn't believe they'd lost him. The damn monk didn't even have the proper nose to sniff his way back to Kagome's home. He smacked himself in the head again, just barely keeping from knocking off his hat and exposing his ears. Between the smells of the people, the grit, the cleaning fluid, and all the stupid perfumes, the dog himself couldn't seem to distinguish the monk's individual scent.

"Can't smell him?" Kagome was rubbing his back lightly with a bag in her other hand and her purse slung over her shoulder.

He shook his head. "No. Where would he go?" Kagome shrugged.

The boy with the silver hair shoved his hands into his pockets and let out a small sigh, which Kagome would never tell him she thought was so cute. "Look," she said, placing her bag between her feet and fishing out a small box. "I was going to give this to you tonight, but we could use it now."

He sniffed at her as she unwrapped the box and the plastic within. She pulled out a bracelet with a watch face, similar to what she wore on her arm constantly, but larger and stronger looking. She smiled as she held it up to him.

"Do you like it? It's industrial strength, so short of the wind scar, it should hold up against anything you could deal to it." She giggled.

He was grinning too much as he took it and slid it over his wrist. It was the kind that showed the numbers and had the watch face. Kagome had taught him how to read it. "It's great, Kagome."

She beamed and gathered back up her bag, tossing the empty box into it. "Okay, well how about we split up and look for him. Well, meet back here when your watch says eight."

Inuyasha nodded and quickly, before he even knew what he might be planning, he leaned in and softly pressed his lips to her cheek. He pulled back and saw her face before he realized what he did. His face burned as he turned and quickly growled. "See you at eight."

She stood for a moment with her finger tips in the place where his lips had been not a few second before and smiled softly before she turned to look for her friend.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I am very sorry for not getting this up over the weekend. I simply did not have time this week. Between a friend in trouble, bathfitter coming to the house, hosting three people for the Halloween weekend, there simply was no time to write.

I promise I will have another chapter for you at the usual time this coming weekend in addition to this.

This won't happen often--I hope never again for this story.

* * *

It had occurred to Shippo while sitting against the filthy wall that Sumi had been here before. He didn't really understand how he knew this to be true—it just was. The woman stayed crouched beside him, shivering against the damp coolness. Shippo wondered if the heavy clothes weren't keeping her warm. Perhaps it was more than the cold.

Reaching out to touch her—they'd been there together, touching every so often, but never remaining in contact for more than a few moments. He reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders, and she fell softly against him with a sigh. He wished he could talk to her—to understand what she did. She began to pet his long hair around the nape of his neck. He groaned; sure it was going to be matted after all this. He wished he had braided it today.

She looked at him, the whites of her eyes seeming to glow what minimal light there was. She was considering something, he could tell that much. Her brows were pushed together and her lips were tight just like Kagome's always were when she worked on hard math homework. Was she thinking about how to escape? Had she escaped once before? Is that when he spotted her rushing through the forest?

Quietly he murmured, "How did you get out?" He knew she heard him, but he could tell from her blank expression that she did not get it.

He felt her fingers twist softly through his hair and it soothed him. He released a tense breath and felt himself sit back into the touch more, closing his eyes. He didn't notice at first when she gently began to hum, he had nearly dozed off. It was calming and he could feel his scalp stretch and let go of its tight hold on his skull. Her tune was one he didn't know at all, but it fell in waves around him and seemed to rock him slowly. He knew he was close to unconsciousness, and he didn't feel at all like fighting it. He lazily allowed himself to drift through a soft dark sea.

_Her beast_.

He felt himself jolt up slightly, and back into the waking world. His eyes flew open and he blinked quickly. There was a bind on the building, messing with youkai instincts and powers, but did it bind the beast? From what he understood, that seemed to be something completely different than blocking aura and attacks and senses. Sumi's beast could fit through the bars. She was tiny. She could get out and find Inuyasha.

"Sumi! My beast form is too big!" He grinned, not realizing that he would be making no sense to someone who could understand Japanese, let alone a woman who had no background in the language. "My best form is too big, and I can feel I can't use fox magic in here, so I can't make myself small enough. But Sumi! You _are_ small!"

The girl stared at him as he stood up and walked quickly around the cell. She stood slowly, but kept herself against the wall behind her. With a grin, the older boy across the cell from her began to shift. She could barely make it out in the darkness, but she could sense the change in his biology. Taking a step forward, she found she could make out a fox the size of a small horse. He barely fit in the cell. His chest rumbled deeply as she stroked his ear with two hesitant fingers.

"Shippo." She pulled her hand back and smiled softly as the large furry creature shifted back into the boy she had come to know.

He cracked his back and stretched. "Ehh…that's always rough." She stared as he pulled himself together. He looked at her when he was finished. "Can you do that, Sumi?

With her head slightly tilted, he was sure she didn't understand what he was trying to say. The young fox cleared his throat and made another stab at communication. He held up his hands and pressed them to his chest. He tapped a few times before she nodded.

"Shippo." The statement was confident—as they usually were with her when she fully comprehended.

"Right, me." He then took his hands from his chest and spread them out around him. Raising an eyebrow, he glanced her way. She had a lock of hair in her hands and was involuntarily running her fingers through it. Nope, not getting it. He brought them back to his chest once more, and again she said his name. He nodded and then bent onto his hands and knees and attempted his best to look like a fox in this form. He hoped he wouldn't have to transform again, he was already drained. The cell's power didn't keep him from using _that_ ability, but using it did seem to exhaust him quicker.

She bit her lip as her brows drew forward. He repeated the movement sequence. She looked to the side for a moment, then turned her face back to his and muttered something he could not understand. The nodding, however, he could. She got it.

He smiled and stood back up. "Sumi?" He pointed to her.

"Sumi." She indicated she understood.

He nodded and then took his hands and held them apart at arms' length, before pulling them back together, palms together. Again, she seemed to take this in and nodded after a moment. He clapped and smiled but quickly stopped as her nod turned to a head shake.

"You—" he thought. She _had _understood hadn't she?

She made the same motion with her hands, repeating what he had just done, then nodded looking him in the eye. Without removing her stare, she then shook her head in the clear universal symbol of "no."

Shippo threw his hands up into the air and let them land at his sides. "But, why?"

Even that, seemed to be universal. She shook her head once more and keep her gaze on his eyes, though hers softened dramatically. Another idea that transcended language. _I'm sorry._

"You can't control her." He felt his head fall back against the wall, and let himself slide down the stones. She was quickly by his side, touching his face, checking for temperature changes. He shook her off lightly, and touched her hand. "I'm fine." He sighed. "Just tired."

She looked at him with apologetic eyes and he chuckled, trying to lighten her mood. She didn't need to be worrying about him right now. His fingers traveled up to her cheeks and he smoothed his palm over her too-thin skin. She was still beautiful, even in the dim light.

Shippo felt his stomach growl and he blushed. How long had they been here? He didn't think too long, but they had skipped dinner. She needed to eat, she was so malnourished.

He sat up quickly, holding the sides of her neck against his palms. He stared into her eyes. They were watering and he thought—finally—he knew why.

They weren't going to feed them at all.

Shippo felt himself swallow realizing that this _was_ where Sumi had been, and why she was so thin. What had this young woman done to cause such imprisonment?

What had _he_ done?


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: As promised. It is a wee bit short, but I've started chatper 12.

* * *

"I have to pee." The black haired girl muttered under her breath as she shoved her way into the ladies room. It was right next to the store where she had started her search and since it was almost eight, she figured it would be quick to stop here before meeting Inuyasha.

The bathroom was empty save for one stall at the end. Kagome pulled open a door two stalls down from that and closed it behind her. She sighed when she sat down and began to relieve herself. She only hoped Inuyasha had found Miroku. She was sure he had—after all he was the dog youkai.

There was a small giggle followed by a moan from the occupied stall down the line. It took a moment for Kagome to process it, but when a male voice joined in for a small sigh, she couldn't help but laugh. She'd never hear two people getting it on in a public bathroom before, but she knew it happened. In fact one of her friends from high school had gone to second base with a guy in the bathroom of their school. Kagome had no idea how she had found the time, but the thought always made her slightly giddy at how silly it seemed to her.

She flushed and threw her purse and bag over her arm without touching them to her hands. She exited the stall and made her way to the sinks to wash her hands. Another audible moan came from the taken stall and she suppressed her urge to laugh loudly. Instead, she simply pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands. As she left, holding the door open, she stopped. She couldn't help herself.

"Mall cop!" She screamed and listened as two people halted and then fumbled around trying to exit the small space made for only one person.

She never expected to recognize the male the popped out from the green partitian. His hair was mussed, completely void of his hair band he normally wore, His shirt was disheveled and his he carried with him looked slightly crushed. The woman who popped out behind him was clearly not of Japanese decent, and Kagome believed she could make out a few English curse words.

As Miroku straightened he caught sight of his friend. His jaw dropped open and his eyes widened.

Kagome simply rolled her eyes. "What the hell Miroku?"

The woman who was trying to adjust her bra under her shirt and clean up her hair style, stopped when she heard this other woman speak the man's name. "Oh dear Jesus, please don't tell me you are his girlfriend."

She looked her monk over and crossed her arms, tapping her foot against the tile floor. "Nope, I've just been looking for him for the past forty-five minutes."

The foreigner paled and Miroku walked over to her quickly, taking her hands in his. "Lady Kagome, I am so very sorry to have wor—"

He was stopped by a large purse in his face. "You big jerk! Don't touch me before you wash your hands. You probably just spread body fluid all over me!"

He let go to guard his head from another blow. "Kagome I swear! There are no body fluids on my hands. We simply uh…enjoyed each other's company."

The woman spoke up hesitantly. "Seriously, all he got to touch was under my bra."

"Ew!" Kagome covered her ears. "Please don't tell me such things about Miroku."

The male before her knelt. "I truly am sorry Kagome. This lovely woman had a nose bleed and we came in here to get her some—"

"Paper towels." The woman provided.

Kagome opened her mouth to respond and couldn't find anything to say at first. She then faux coughed, and said "What about Sango?"

Miroku grew quiet. He cast his eyes down to the floor.

"Miroku, what about Sango?"

He answered very quickly, with a much more snippy tone than she'd ever heard from the mellow monk. "She informed me that she no longer wished to be with me, Kagome."

She took a step back and watched as the normally well controlled man stood with moist eyes. "But, why didn't she tell me?"

The woman watched the scene and felt her heart sink. She hated that the young man looked so worn from the simple mention of the other woman's name. She clenched her jaw. It was clear he "Sango" and had been rejected. She hated being the rebound.

"Kagome," his voice was gentle, though reserved. "Sango informed me the night before she left for her home two nights ago. I think it has something to do with my…condition." He clutched a hand to his chest, gripping the fabric over his heart. "It was so sudden—I always thought…"

He felt his friend lay a hand on his forearm. He looked up to take in her eyes. They were apologetic. He laughed with a snort. "Don't worry, Kagome. I appreciate that you defend her so."

The girl swallowed and cringed. It almost felt like a sting. Did this mean Sango wouldn't be coming back? She shook her head, she'd have to think of that later.

"Inuyasha is waiting for us." She took his hand. "Come on, let's go." Miroku nodded and began to follow her when Kagome stopped and looked at the brown haired woman. "Um, do you want to get a cab together?"

The woman looked as if she wanted to back away from the situation entirely, but nodded softly. For some reason she really wanted to spend more time with the man she'd just been caught making out with in a public restroom. If it was only a short taxi ride, then she'd take it.

She gathered up her things and followed the two strangers out of the ladies room.


	12. Chapter 12

Shippo knew they had not been in the cell as long as it felt like it had been. Though there was no way to judge when the sun had set and if it had risen again, Shippo's internal clock told him it had barely become night. His heart though, felt like it had been stuck in here for days. The fox's stomach churned. His gut agreed.

Sumi had fallen asleep. He didn't know how. Perhaps it was because she was familiar with the holding cell, and what to expect from their captors. She snored lightly on his shoulder. The boy was painfully aware that what he was experiencing with the woman leaning against him was the closest thing to courting he had ever practiced. He rested his nose in her hair and inhaled. She did smell so good. There was a scent about her that was completely strange to him, but it was soothing and he could taste it on his tongue.

The panther had come back just a while before, and he had instructed Shippo that he would be back before sunrise to take them to another location. Shippo hadn't said anything, but wondered why the panther took the time to update him. The fox wondered if the panther was in this job voluntarily.

He ran his palm up the side of his companion feeling the miko garb she wore. Humming, he felt her curl into him more against the setting cold of the cell. His nose was still pressed against his hair and he wondered why she couldn't control her beast. Sure, Shippo understood that is got out of hand for everyone from time to time, when emotions were unstable, but he'd never heard of having no control over it.

It didn't seem as though she found it odd he could control his beast. Otherwise, the boy may have assumed that this girl's species couldn't naturally. No, from the look in her eyes when she understood his plan, he could tell she was ashamed that she didn't currently have any say about what form she was in. He scratched her head. Poor girl.

She moaned slightly then opened her eyes. She attempted to look into his, but couldn't quite focus with how close their faces were. "Shippo." She seemed to enforcing what little Japanese she learned.

Shippo scooted back from her so he could sit with an arm's length if space between the two. She tilted her head and he giggled slightly. Covering his mouth as his blush creped up, the boy cleared his throat and situated himself in a comfortable position. Sumi followed his example.

"Okay, we are going to teach you some words while we have nothing else to do. I'm sure being able to communicate would help you much more right now."

She stared at him blankly.

He coughed and shifted his hands in and out of his haori sleeves. "Uh yes, well. First, let's learn yes and no."

He shook his head and said "no."

The woman looked at him. He repeated the gesture and word. "No."

She mimicked him with a shake of her head. "No."

Shippo smiled and clapped. He then nodded his head and said "yes."

Repeating his motion and word this time, Sumi nodded after a moment in addition. "Yes."

Shippo nodded. "Yes."

"Yes." She smiled lightly.

"Hehe. Yes, no." He repeated the nod, and then the head shake with the words.

She nodded vigorously and said. "Yes yes yes."

She got it. "Thank goodness you are bright."

"Yes."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, now…" The boy figured visuals would help her best, but there was very little in the cell he could use to educate her. He looked down at himself. Well, he could use his clothes and body parts. "The head bone's connected to the neck bone…" he chimed to himself.

"Sumi?"

She nodded. "Yes?"

He grinned at her for using the word in another form. "Foot." He pointed to his fox-like left paw. Then he pointed to her humanoid foot and repeated the word. "Yes?"

She shook her head and answered "no."

He placed his and onto her bare skin. "Foot."

She studied him and quirked her upper lip, lifting it slightly. She wiggled her appendage. "Foot?"

"Yes." He clapped again.

"Foot."

"Yes."

She sat back for a moment and looked at said foot. She muttered something under her breath and returned her gaze to him. She grabbed the long curtain of hair that fell behind her and pulled it over her shoulder. She held it and pointed to it. "Yes?"

He nodded. "Hair."

She looked at it and shook the tail in her grip. "Hair, yes?"

He confirmed what she'd learned by saying yes.

Her mouth twisted to the side as she flipped the long strands back over her shoulder. She looked at him, chewing on her lip for a moment before sighing. She brought her arms out and made a _pooft _sound with her mouth. She repeated the action and sound quickly, her hands flying outward. _And it was this big._

"Yes?" She raised her eyebrows in question.

He shook his head, informing her he didn't understand. "No."

She growled softly at herself and tried again. She pointed to him. "Shippo." Then she brought her arms out and made the same sound as before.

"Bigger?" He thought on it until it seemed to come to him. "Oh the beast form?"

Her brown eyes narrowed as she concentrated. "Yes?"

"Beast."

She pointed to herself and then made the same motion as before but making the space smaller rather than larger. "Beast Sumi, yes?"

"Beast, yes." Shippo was hesitant to confirm since it was sketchy what she could mean by a bigger Shippo and a smaller Sumi.

She nodded and it seemed an air cam over her. Almost of anger. "Sumi beast no."

Shippo stretched his hand forward and touched hers. She allowed it.

"No."

"Sumi no beast yes."

He repeated what she said with an eyebrow raised.

Growling at herself again, she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Sumi no _pooft_ beast. No beast!"

"No beast. No pooft?"

"Yes." She nodded with emphasis.

"Yes." He rubbed her hand with him. She couldn't pooft as she put it. He made the sound back to her. "_Pooft_ transform."

"Transform?"

He nidded softly. "Yes."

"Sumi no transform beast. Yes?"

He sighed at the implications. "Yes."

After a few hours of language study with Sumi, it seemed to Shippo she must already know many languages. She was learning very quickly and clearly had a knack for picking up on basic structure and memorizing words. She had learned all the body parts Shippo was able to teach her without blushing. She'd learned the word hunger and hungry. She'd figured out cell, bars, lock, key, and even guard. Sumi had even picked up on individual pieces of clothes. He'd explained as best he could what he was. She seemed to understand the fox implications but not the youkai part. He'd learned that she was called a nagual in her language, and he'd tried to explain to her that he didn't know the translation for that in his. He had never met any creature like her before.

Now the two were working on ideas and concepts—things he couldn't show her in their present holding area, or things that simply had no physical representation. Currently, Shippo was trying to get her to understand the notion of a name. He believed she understood that "Shippo" and "Sumi" were names, which name did not mean the physical individual.

He held her hands in his, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. She seemed to like that.

"Sumi?"

She looked up from where her head had been bent over their mutual grasp and said "yes?"

He smiled. "What Sumi name?"

"Sumi." She answered quickly and returned her gaze to their hands.

"Uh no." He shook his head. "Sumi not Sumi. Name?" He emphasized the negative word.

She looked up slowly, but met his eyes. He felt his hands instinctually grip hers at the look on her face. It was practically screaming to him that she wanted to run away.

"No name."

He sighed. "Sumi—"

"No name! She shook her head and tried to pull back, but the boy kept a firm hold on her.

He pulled her forward and saw her distress. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her cheek."Alright, alright. No name. I'm okay with that." He rubbed her back softly and she drifted back down from her near panic state. She _had _been nearly panicked—he realized then.

Rubbing her back with her now clutching onto him, the red haired boy took note not to bring up her real name again.


	13. Chapter 13

Miroku couldn't believe the woman had shared the car ride with them. She was squeezed between Kagome and himself in the lumpy back seat, while Inuyasha road in the front with the driver. The hanyou would peek back at the three and lift his upper lip. The monk felt horrible. He felt himself lean forward as his hands claimed his face.

He'd never felt so lousy. Sango had made it clear to him that it was not going to progress beyond their friendship, yet he felt like he had violated a sacred oath. Miroku may have been a liar, a thief, and a con man, but he was not heartless. He'd always considered himself sensitive to other's emotions. He'd always considered himself loyal to a fault, and while he may have enjoyed many women in his life, since he'd acknowledged his feelings for Sango to himself…

He rubbed his face. He didn't even really have the desire to be with anyone but her. Of course he was committed. It was no out loud promise. No written or spoken oath. But Miroku had lived by those feelings—even if Sango didn't. He'd never violated his commitment.

He felt a light touch on his shoulder and turned to see the light-haired woman looking in his eyes. Poor woman, she did seem very kind hearted. He grinned softly—it was completely forced—and sat back up. He tapped her hand to let her know he was fine, then turned to stare out the window. He didn't wish to look at her. He'd used her to help deal with his grief. It showed an utter lack of self control and she certainly didn't deserve this. He was disgusted.

The woman lowered her head and clasped her hands together over her bag of bought items. "It's Susanne, just so you know."

The man with the ponytail looked back at her and this time his expression was genuine—not a smile, but genuine none-the-less. He covered his mouth as he pulled at his dark sweatpants and cleared his throat. She felt her own face pull away from his. She didn't want to talk to him anymore.

"I'm so very appalled I didn't know it before. Miroku." His voice was still smooth, but it lacked the put-on quality he had after he'd first met her.

The girl beside them had turned to look at the two, Sue could make out the action from her peripheral sight. It was too small of a space.

Kagome decided it was time to speak up. "So, where are you going?"

"Huh?" The woman looked up to her, a bit startled at the direct attention from the girl who had found her making out in a bathroom stall with a stranger.

The black-haired girl allowed her face to express a softer attitude. The woman beside her seemed gun-shy. She picked at her cuticles.

"Where can we drop you off?"

The green eyes narrowed in thought, but it only took a moment for Sue to answer. "Uh…I'm staying at a hotel just outside of the city."

From the front seat a slight grumble could be heard from the cab driver—clearly he'd rather not make the trip.

The woman seemed to notice and allowed herself to glower. "Buddy, I'm from Vegas. Don't try to pull that crap with me."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Las Vegas?"

Sue turned back to her with a slightly weary look. "Yeah…" English again. "I live there now—well on the outskirts. Originally from a small town outside of Cumberland, Maryland. Know it?"

Kagome smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "I know Baltimore…"

The woman nodded quickly, as if she were used to that response. "Yeah most people in Maryland don't even know the town I am from." She huffed, blowing some of the honey brown hair from her face. "I lived in New York a while too."

"What are ya doin' hear in Japan, then?" It was the odd silver-white haired man at the front of the cab who asked. Sue turned to him and saw that he had turned around to watch her response. She guessed he didn't get carsick easily.

"Uh. Well I actually come to Japan often. Usually for business—this time for pleasure." She didn't miss the slight quirk of an eyebrow from the man beside her.

Kagome seemed thrilled. "What's New York like?" She was nearly bouncing in the seat.

The new addition to the group laughed slightly. "Very dirty. Some of the worst attitudes from people I have ever had the misfortune to experience." She smiled at the younger woman. "Vegas is also sort of dirty—but the attitude is fabulous. I think it's because it's a giant playground for adults."

Kagome seemed enthralled. Inuyasha, having no clue what the woman in the center of the back seat was really talking about, had turned back to the front. Miroku remained with his cheek against the cool glass. Sue was glad the tension seemed to have ebbed for now.

She took it upon herself to continue the trend. "I really would like to go to Santa Fe and San Francisco soon. Never been that far west."

There was a giggle from beside her and Kagome chimed in. "Me either." The two laughed together and Miroku watched as Inuyasha shook his head and crossed his arms from the front seat.

Miroku was about to ask about the woman's job. He really shouldn't leave the conversing entirely up to Kagome, he owed Susanne better than that. He had turned slightly to put her into his view out of politeness, when he heard something odd from Inuyasha up front.

"Ah fuck!" He fumbled for his sword but came up with nothing at his hip—not even the sheath. In an instant he's changed tactics, but it was too late. The boy had held up his claws to the passenger's side window, making them obvious to anyone who'd wish to know and managed to get out "iron" before Miroku heard the giant _pop_.

He saw before he felt it. In one moment there was silver hair in front of his eyes, then it was pushed into his face, through the seat. He vaguely wondered where the seat had in fact gone before feeling it in his lap with Inuyasha's weight and momentum cutting into his thighs and stomach. His friend's arms shot out, catching himself as best he could on the barrier between the front and back windows on both sides. Luckily, the metal held and the monk did not black out from pain that would have surely come if Inuyasha had not had such quick reflexes. The glass beside his face exploded in many small flying pieces. He closed his eyes against this, but felt several hit into his neck and shoulder. He didn't know how many were in his left cheek, but he was sure it wasn't a simple few.

Beside him he heard Kagome cry out and a distinct thump from Susanne. She was very quiet.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. When Miroku opened his eyes, he realized the car was facing in the opposite direction it had been only fifteen seconds prior. Inuyasha and his seat were in his lap, but no weight was on him anymore. His friend's hands clenched tightly to the metal of the car on either side of him with blood dripping down. He must have cut them on the glass he broke.

Miroku shook his head slowly and felt a twinge in his neck, but turned it to look to his right anyway. Kagome was against her window—thank Buddha it hadn't also broken—and looked winded but not hurt. The girl beside he was slumped forward. Her forehead leaned against the shoulder of Inuyasha's seat and blood was quickly pouring down the gray fabric. Miroku stretched out his hand and meant to lean her back to take a better look at her head, but Kagome interrupted him.

"No don't!" She was dazed but firm. "Her neck might be injured. Inuyasha, don't move either. We need to keep her still."

The cab driver pulled himself from his steering wheel and looked around. His glasses were broken, but other than that he looked fine. "Everyone alright?"

Kagome took charge—Miroku was grateful. "We think the American hit her head, she might have something wrong with her neck also. Can you get out and call for help?" She teetered and leaned against her window again. "I also hit my head and I am bit dizzy. Inuyasha don't move."

The cab driver hurried out of his car and Kagome slumped more against her door. Miroku peered over to her—still more concerned with his long-time friend's health than the woman between them.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

She nodded. "I think I might have a slight concussion. How're your legs?"

He shifted them as best he could in the small space. "They are fine, but my neck aches a bit."

She nodded and breathed out through pursed lips. "Don't move it around too much. Okay?"

"Alright." It was then Miroku realized Inuyasha was still frozen in place—which was good—but hadn't said a word—which was bad. "Inuyasha?"

A low growling answer came from just in front of him. "I'm alright…just let me cool it."

The monk's eyes flicked to the hand that still held the hanyou up and glanced over the wrists. There were two fading jagged streaks along it. The dog hadn't taken his father's fang with him to the mall, and he was barely maintaining control of himself now. Miroku hoped beyond reason that his friend would manage it. The worst thing would be for his youkai to unleash now.

Miroku situated himself and began to pray.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry this is short, but it is the fault of the weekend. You weren't the only people I had to neglect this Thanksgiving.

* * *

Through the accident and the resulting injuries to both himself and his friends, Miroku never felt his heart explode into the erratic thumps he had become familiar with. But, when he caught glimpse of the evidence of his friend's youkai blood surfacing in such a small contained space of twisted metal, he felt himself interrupt his meditation as his heart blew up full force.

Pressing his head to the back of Inuyasha's headrest, the monk tried to hold down his panic. There were only two things in this world that could send him into such a state, and one was the lack of knowledge about his own body. It was terrifying to feel you could die at any moment. He forced himself to take very deep breaths and slow his lungs to slow his speeding blood. He hoped that would help.

Kagome's hand was on his shoulder from across the car. He faintly realized how unconcerned the two of them were for the woman between them with a bleeding head. He felt his chest calming with the guilt as it slinked its way into his core. The guilt cooled his panic better than a freezing stream.

"Miroku?" He felt her shake his shoulder and he nodded, still a bit winded. "Are you getting a grip?" He nodded again then managed to pull his face out of the seat in front of him.

He could still fell Inuyasha shaking a bit in front of him, but he felt his friend must have himself under control better than he thought. He hadn't gone off yet.

Kagome's door creaked as the cab driver opened it. "Hey, we've got an ambulance on the way. Should be here very soon. Can I help anyone out?"

Kagome pointed toward Miroku. "He could stand to get out of his seat. Inuyasha's holding his off his lap right now." The cabbie raised his eyebrows and stumbled as he rushed around the back to Miroku's door. With a heavy grind, the man managed to get the passenger's side back door open. Miroku took the offered hand and scooted out from under the small space between his seat and his friend's. He stretched—careful of his neck—and stepped away from the monster car he had been trapped in for only a few minutes.

As the cab driver bent to open Inuyasha's door, getting dangerously close to the hanyou's clawed fingers still latched onto the vehicle, Miroku grabbed his arm. "He's not ready to step out." He tried to sound like there was no creeping unease in his voice. "Let's give him a moment, yes?"

The man nodded and headed back to Kagome who had gotten herself out of the cab. Sue remained inside with Inuyasha. Miroku peered into the window beside him. His friend still help himself up rigidly, but even with the setting dark, he could see the marks and the red of his eyes fading away. He'd managed to stay in control. Miroku felt abnormally proud for him.

He knelt beside the car and touched his friend's hand. "Inuyasha? How are you doing there?"

The growl burbled out just as smoothly as the voice letting Miroku know that Inuyasha was still in fact struggling with his youkai. "Yeah…just need a few more minutes, kay?"

He felt himself nod and stand to step back. He looked across the car toward Kagome. On the way he noticed the gray car that hit them had completely crashed into the front passenger's corner. It was lucky Inuyasha had been there, because even though Miroku was not very familiar with the workings of vehicle physics, he was sure a human would not have lived through such an impact.

Turning back to his friend, he watched her from the short distance away. She had her head lowered and was discussing something with the cabbie. She looked a bit pale and was wringing her hands together as if they were in a fight. He felt his feet move him to her side without much effort and put his arm around her. She leaned against him—something she did not normally do. He couldn't help but ask.

"Lady Kagome, are you alright?"

She turned her face up to his and the look in her eyes was dark. "Sue—she's…" she faltered as her eyes pulled down.

Miroku positioned himself directly in front of her and held her hands with his. Her knuckles were still white. "Kagome, what about Sue?"

She loosened her hands long enough to grasp his. "I couldn't find a pulse on her. I don't know what to do. I can't move her or I could kill her, but I don't even know if CPR would work." She shook a bit. He tried to comfort her by rubbing her hands. "I'm not a doctor or a nurse—I don't know what to do."

Miroku continued to rub her hands as he felt himself begin to worry—for the first time since the crunch of the cab—about the woman lingering in the back seat.


	15. Chapter 15

Though their resources were severely depleted thanks to the binding on their cell, Sumi and Shippo thought they may have found a new source of hope.

Shippo's youkai abilities were practically useless while in holding here, but Sumi wasn't a youkai—not exactly. He had begun sitting across from each other on the cold floor with their fingertips touching.

"Sumi, we need to let the youkai flow."

She nodded—Shippo was sure she understood the basic concept—and closed her eyes.

Shippo smiled and did the same. He tried to open up a door within himself. Using what Inuyasha had told him about his inner youkai, Shippo searched for his core. Inuyasha was a good example because the rise of his energy was so much more effective on his hanyou body. The youkai was obvious and the feeling dominated from a common place within himself. He said it felt wrapped around his gut—just as his human side felt when it rose, although it was much less volatile to him when that side emerged. It was like a small constant burn, which Inuyasha told him was constant.

Shippo pinched his eyelids tighter as he tried to feel that burn. He'd never felt it before other than when changing into his fox form, but he knew it was there if he could only find it. He could faintly hear Sumi murmuring something in front of him, but he was sure it was in her language. Was she like a witch in that she could cast with her voice and hands? Or was it more like a meditation such as he himself was attempting?

Shaking his head, the red haired fox focused on his inner self. _Youkai where are you? _He breathed out forcefully in frustration. He didn't know where to search for it.

The hand on his fingertips was now gone and tugging on his haori sleeve. He opened his eyes to see the girl staring at him. Her eyebrows pulled together and she flicked her gaze to the side as he'd learned she did while trying to recall something she'd recently learned. She blinked several times and looked back to meet his eyes.

"Shippo." She still seemed unsure about her words. "You no get youkai. Yes?"

He nodded slowly, ducking his head as if it would help him understand.

She nodded with a slight scowl over her features. "You no get youkai. You youkai." She settled in with a sigh to see if she was comprehended.

"Yes…I'm a youkai. What do you mean?" The teen was indeed lost.

She let out the slight growl she always had when frustrated with her communication abilities and took her hands away from him. She pointed her index finger and touched it its mate on the opposite finger. "What this please?"

The boy nodded and provided her with the word "finger."

She nodded and continued to point. "Youkai no finger. Youkai arm. Yes?"

He tried not to, but he felt his face going to his "are you nuts" expression. He opened his mouth to answer, stopped himself, then scooted back a bit to better see her motions. "Uh…no. What?"

She grimaced, but repeated her pointing. "Youkai no finger. Youkai no arm. Youkai you. Shippo Youkai you, no finger."

Then the light hit him in the face. "O-oh! The youkai is all of me, not a piece of me."

"Piece?" Her finger remained on her other didget. Shippo felt himself laugh and push her hand away from her other.

"Thank you." She seemed to settle and nod after a moment. Then she opened her hands in front of her, offering to try again. He raised his hands back up and touched his fingertips to hers. She closed her eyes and began to repeat the same phrase again as far as Shippo could make out. He decided to ask.

"So, your words? Spell or youkai."

Without opening her eyes she nodded "yes," then continued her repetition. He decided it was not best to ask for clarification at this time. Instead, he leaned back and closed his eyes as well, concentrating.

_Not a piece of me like it is with Inuyasha. I am the youkai._ Shippo felt himself begin to grow irritated again quickly, but calmed himself and relaxed. He was well informed enough to know that he would gain better control of himself with age, but boy was it a bad time to be young.

He felt himself scoff and his anxiety lessened.

Then the jolt.

He snapped his eyes open in time to see the young woman across from him do the same. They both bypassed each other's expressions for the moment and focused on the sensation they had felt. It was a snap, a jolt which had passed between their two touching middle fingers on his left hand, her right. Shippo felt himself grow giddy as the relieved laughter threatened to bubble up from inside him. He maintained his composure—Inuyasha had once told him he sounded like a girl when he giggled like that—and sighed again.

As his posture relaxed he noticed Sumi do the same, and another sharp little jolt peaked out from under his claw and into her flesh. Or, perhaps it had been the other way around. Shippo barely cared. As the boy let out a small laughter, forgetting his pose, the spark glowed physically and spiked.

"Ah-ha! We've got it! Plenty of power to shift one of us." He didn't dare to pull back his hands, so afraid of forgetting how to conjure such a joint success.

Sumi's eye were wide, but joyous, and Shippo nudged her with their touching fingers that they should try again.

Again and again the two practiced in the dark cell, sending small flicks of light to illuminate their surroundings. By the time the guard came around again, they had managed to produce some fox magic.

The panther eyed the two curiously, wondering how they could smile in their situation, but found nothing suspicious. He quickly left the area to head back to where he stayed when not checking up on the prisoners.

Shippo and Sumi could barely contain the smug smile he wanted to throw at the guard. Sumi, on the other hand, had moved on with great sobriety to her expression. She insisted that they hurry—no more playing around. At least that is what Shippo thought she meant. As Kagome often said: buckle down.

He could physically taste her aura now. It wrapped with his, tangling into something that would have been frightening if the binds were not holding back much of their true potential. Shippo had never done this before, and he didn't know how powerful it could get. They would have to be careful when they tried it without limits.

He shook his head. He needed to think about what he and Sumi were building together. How they were gathering strength.

That's when he had the vision of her again.

She appeared nude, as she always did. Well nourished, clean, and nude. Shippo felt himself gulp as he struggled to hold back against Sumi's pressing force. He needed to holdup his end. Pushing back, he tried to shake away the image, but with little success. Her skin was soft, and her tail intact. It flowed down her backside, wrapping itself around her right leg. He shivered at the sight of her own red and black fur on her skin, and knew he'd lost it. Her aura pushed against his with nothing to break the force. He violently rocked backwards, landing on his back on the floor.

He began to grumble, but instead heard himself growl. The young youkai blinked and held a thin black paw up in front of his face. He knew this sensation. His beast was out. Flipping himself over, he looked _up_ to Sumi. Wait, up?

She had grown huge! No, he quickly realized it was he who had shrunk. His form was his, for sure, but he supposed that burst from Sumi left him more to her beast size. The red and black haired woman in front of him smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Good, yes?"

He nodded back slowly, feeling his snout nearly in her lap. So this is what she'd planned. Alright, Shippo would take it. He turned his head to the bars at the front of the cell and after eyeballing them for a moment, he figured he could probably fit through them at this size.

A small yiff escaped his muzzle and he trotted over to the bars. No hurt in trying.


	16. Chapter 16

Time spent in a hospital waiting room always seemed to trickle by slowly, but it was worse when you were sure the person you were waiting on was dead. Kagome had called home from the front desk, cursing herself for being the only female in Japan who never owned a cell phone. She'd just never spent enough time at home to play for it. If she knew that it would work in the feudal era, she would have spent the money on a family plan for everyone in her group. It would certainly save time. Kagome's mother had asked if she wanted her to come down, to which her daughter assured her that the three would be fine here together. None-the-less, about fifteen minutes later, Souta showed up with his box of playing cards.

So, now the four sat playing Magic the Gathering—Miroku and Inuyasha had never played before, but both had picked up on it fairly quickly when Souta taught them. They had shamelessly pulled up two end tables to use as playing space and any time a hospital staff member passed by they received odd looks or laughs. Kagome had won two games, Miroku one, but Souta was the expert and he had built all the decks himself. Kagome had to hold back laughing at Inuyasha. The hanyou had chosen Souta's weakest deck, the one he was working on now, and he hadn't beaten any of them once. He was always the first to fall. It was making him grouchy so Kagome switched decks with him before their current game.

"Ha!" The silver-haired boy threw down an instant preventing all combat damage for this turn. His grin was smug.

Kagome sighed as she reached across the table to his land cards and tapped two for him. His cheeks grew slightly red and he mumbled a small thank you under his breath.

Souta smirked at the older male and countered the spell.

Inuyasha's eyes flew open wide and he threw his hand of cards up into the air. "That's it. I'm done with this game."

Miroku covered his mouth with the back of his hand, but held back his comments.

"Suck at white just as much as I sucked at the red." He grimaced, rubbed his fingers over his eyes in irritation, and then began to pick up the spilled cards.

That was when Miroku did burst out in laughter, unable to control himself.

A small growl was heard from below the table where a hanyou was hunched over. Souta laughed as he gave himself more life from the combat damage on Inuyasha.

"Lifelink rocks. I'm going to need another dice."

Kagome sighed as she dug into the small box, handing her brother one of his counters.

That was when the doctor came out into the waiting room. Although the four had seen a few doctors come out and give news to a few patient's families and it really could have been news for the older man in the corner of the room, the four knew this was for them. Kagome thought it must have been a sixth sense one received while in the waiting room.

The doctor was a bleach blond Japanese man with spiky hair and purple scrubs—one of the ER doctors with the late shift. He looked fairly young, and Kagome figured that must be why he had the sucky shift and why he didn't feel it necessary to present himself as an adult. He'd briefly spoken with them before, but now his energy seemed a little drained for how early it was into the night. He stood in front of them and clasped his hands together.

"Ah thank you for your pacience, all of you. I wanted to get out here earlier to give you and update, but I simply couldn't get away." He shifted and glanced at the white hair as Inuyasha popped up from below the table. "Uh, well yes. So Your friend is stable and she has been moved to the ICU but she is comatose."

Kagome gasped. Miroku looked from the doctor to her and turned back to the man. "What does that mean, Sir?"

The doctor blinked and shifted nervously again. "Uh, well it means she is unconscious and unresponsive. It's like she is asleep and can't wake up."

Kagome interjected. "Do you know how long the state will last?"

He shook his head. "We don't. Most people with this type of head trauma either come out of it in a few days or they die on impact. There is a small possibility that she'll be in a long term coma, though it is unlikely."

The dark haired young woman looked to her three companions. "Well…the prognosis is most likely good then. Right?" She looked back to the blond.

He nodded. "Most likely."

Miroku felt himself lower his head to watch his hands intensely.

"Now, she had no family here with her or close friends?"

The girl shook her head. "Not that we know of. We've only known her for a short while ourselves."

The doctor nodded. "We'll her insurance checked out, so she'll be fully covered while here, so that's good since she has no one."

Miroku drew his brows together and lingered on that last part. _She has no one…_

"I'd like to be put down as her emergency contact while she's here." Kagome found a rough hand covering her clenched one that belonged to Inuyasha, followed quickly by her brother's. She looked at them and smiled.

"Alright." The blond said. "I'll have someone bring you the paperwork." He was about to leave but stopped and turned back to the small group with cards scattered over two end tables. "You know, it's odd."

"What?" The girl looked back to him with questioning eyes.

"Well," He scratched the back of his head, "she had no contacts in her phone other than ICE."

Souta spoke up. "What's ICE?"

"It's what the Americans do to indicate emergency contact. In Case of Emergency. The police and rescue officials look though the phone contacts and find that, they know who to call. Usually its parents, spouses, or close friends. We called Ms. Dorian's ICE contact and her own voice mail answered."

Kagome looked horrified. "She only had that number in her phone?"

"Well, no she had a few numbers for take-out restaurants, and one for work, but it's too late to call there tonight."

The girl looked to her boyfriend (at least that's what the blond doctor assumed he was) and squeezed the hands in hers. "Sue has nobody."

Miroku felt sick.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Happy holidays and thanks for reading.

* * *

Constant exposure to the building's spiritual bind on youkai abilities was taking its toll on him. He'd noticed over the months, now nearly a year that he'd spent here. Of course he was hindered during his watch, but at first that was the extent of it. Then his attack abilities outside began to dwindle. Soon after, it was his sight and hearing. He was not blind, nor was he deaf by any means, but he was more impaired. He imagined it was how humans must feel most of the time. He could heard fine, but the special sharpness he had with tones before was gone. The brilliant colors and distance sight was gone now, as well as his feline ability to see in the dark. Even with the loss of his hearing and night vision, he hadn't been so angry as he had been at the realization he was becoming head blind.

It was the other night when his mate sat between his legs with her back resting against his chest. His clawed fingers slightly circled over her swollen abdomen and she spoke with him.

"Sorry." He hated to ask and was happy he didn't need to. She'd gotten used to his less adequate hearing.

She stroked his cheek as she repeated herself. "He's going to be coming soon." She directed her gaze to her own distended belly.

That's when it hit him. He couldn't sense the cub's aura and he could barely smell his mate when he wasn't within touching range. Both of these together took away the most important part of his youkai self. At least to him. Without sight, he was still a panther youkai. Lacking hearing did not affect what made him what he was. But the fact that he could no longer smell his mate's scent from afar when that was what initially attracted him to her (as was the case with most panther youkai mating), and he could not read the aura of his own cub well enough to know the sex—it was appalling. That was what took his sense of self away.

The black skinned guard growled to himself as he gripped his sword. What was happening to him could very well be permanent. For this, he hated his lord.

In whatever ways the binding on the prison was a downfall for the panther guard, it was a great aid for Shippo as he hopped past the feline without so much as breaking the guard's concentration. His aura, which would always be a dead give away no matter his form, was completely hidden from the guard thanks to the securities put in place by his lord.

Shippo himself did not take the time to ponder this, as he was in a hurry and the panther youkai's badly dealt hand was the least of his worries. As he felt the moonlight touch his fur, he could feel the youkai within him grow more dense. Surprised that although the dungeon was below ground, there was no lord's keep over the structure as there normally would be. In fact, as Shippo looked around, he noted that there was no keep to be seen. There was nothing at all.

The young fox whined softly into the night, free from the barrier of the prison. He had no clue where they were. Judging from the time of night, he didn't think Sumi and he could have been brought too far from Kaede's villiage, but he had never seen such a place before. He though he was completely familiar with all that surrounded the older miko's home at least for a fifty mile radius. Of course, if they had been kidnapped by a who could cover large distances quickly, there was no telling how far they'd come.

He didn't need to worry about that now. What he needed to do was find a way to get Sumi out without having to go back in himself.

That was when a dark figure emerged from the underground holding area. Shippo's nose told him instantly that it was the panther guard who he'd just snuck past—or so he thought. The humanoid ears at the side of the male's head twitched as he turned towards the small fox figure. Shippo held his breath, sure he was toast.

The guard could barely hear the small pants from the tiny fox in front of him, but it had caught his attention as he stormed away from his post. It was simply a fox from what he could tell. It was small like a fox rather than a youkai's beast form, and it held no aura of anything unusual. He growled to himself. Not that he'd be able to feel such an aura if there was one or smell anything out of the ordinary. It was for those reasons that not two minutes ago, he broke his sword over his knee and stormed out of the prison, effectively ruining his career.

Shippo thought the panther could pass for a human if not for the pointed ears, sleek tail, and onyx colored skin. He was a large, wiry guard, and the teen found he'd rather not have to fight him if it came down to that. And, with how the panther was staring at him, Shippo was sure the feline knew that he was no ordinary fox.

The small fox seemed to twitch in front of him, nearly shaking. The guard pitied the foolish thing. He wasn't going to harm it, but he was sure his simple presence frightened it greatly. He was torn between attempting to soothe it and vacating. He wished to go home and see Morita, his pregnant mate.

With a soft sigh, the panther youkai shrugged and took a step toward the young fox. "Alright there. I'm not going to hurt you. Just go back into the woods." He felt ridiculous as he waved his hands in a small "shoo shoo" gesture.

The small fox did as told and scrambled under a small bush nearby. The guard held back a chuckle—really; he'd always been a bit of a soft heart for small furry animals. He began to walk away from the underground prison to his home, which he should probably relocate soon since he may piss off his lord by simply leaving on duty. He stopped and held out his palm, running his finger over the lines. The nagual—she was still in her cell with her young fox youkai.

He closed his hand into a fist, his claws biting into his flesh just a bit. He had such poor control over the retraction anymore. He grimaced. She was by all purposes rightfully his lord's property. The nagual had come over on the ship with him, and he as a simple guard had no right to fight that system. And maybe if he didn't have a mate and cub on the way, he wouldn't care if he pissed off a strong lord, but he did have those things. The panther growled lowly at himself. He'd always prided himself on dignity, and so far this year, he'd taken a disgusting post as guard for a disgusting lord's holding area. The coward didn't even have the nerve to park his keep anywhere near the dungeon. He'd done this because it was insinuated that all those in the region who did not take up service to the new lord would be hunted. It hadn't seemed worth the fight so newly mated.

But the young woman was just like Morita. She was probably a very similar age. She may not have been a youkai, but even he could remember her scent had been so close to that of his own. She was not below youkai, that much he knew, and he had always been an oddity in his more liberal attitude toward other youkai. He barely lived by traditional law himself, mating for the first time at such a mature age and ignoring most females' heats until then. The only other youkai he knew that had waited longer than him was Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, a taiyoukai he knew little about, but had met in passing once and respected greatly.

Grunting at himself and his own impulsiveness, Ueda, the guard turned back and fled from the moonlight into the building below.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Sorry this is a bit short and very late this week. When you get sick over the holidays, not much writing gets done. I hope you all had a great whatever you celebrate, and a happy new year.

* * *

Sumi stood in the center of the cell, keeping her eyes open, trying to see in every direction at once. She didn't know if Shippo would try to unlock the door or come in from another direction. Looking at her hands, she flexed them as she thought about the difficulty in being stuck in that form. Shippo unable to access his attacks or strengths. He wouldn't even be able to change back to his humanoid form on his command.

Sumi sighed and cursed in her own language at the inconvenience of her binding. It was a curse, and she supposed she deserved it to some degree. She'd had plenty of mischievous moments in her youth. Groaning to herself, she pulled her hands together, touching her fingertips together. She never knew if the gesture was necessary, or if it was just her natural way to calm herself and clear her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in then released it as felt her blood pulse.

"Shippo."

"What?"

Her eyes snapped open as he glanced to where the unfamiliar voice had come from. It was the panther guard. He stood outside the bars, his dark skin and long hair making him seem more like a shadow than a solid being. She heard a small growl escape his lips.

Panicked, she quickly thought through all the ways her small fox friend could have been caught. Was he alright? Had the panther found him and eaten him. That didn't seem normal here, but where she was from, most creatures like the panther youkai did eat smaller beasts.

The large male on the other side of bars growled again, flashing a small portion of white fang. "Where is the runt?"

The woman did not know what "runt" meant, but the panther had spoken slow enough for her to understand, something her previous guard never cared to do. "Uh. Shippo?"

She could see him grimace and draw his clawed hand roughly over his face. "My senses can't be _that_ bad." The last word rumbled out in an angry growl. Sumi couldn't tell what he said, for he mumbled it and it flew by too quickly, but she could tell the emotion was not directed at her. She felt her shoulders loosen in relief.

The face across the space from her looked at his prisoner. It seemed long and exhausted. This confused the nagual, for she didn't think these creatures could look tired. Against her better judgment, she felt herself take a small step forward and reach her hand through the bars to touch his shoulder. When the pads of her fingers touched his surprisingly soft skin, he did not react. When her claws raked against him however, he flinched back and muttered something completely foreign to her. He rolled his shoulder away from her touch and pulled out his keys, quickly sticking one in the lock and turning it.

Sumi pulled her arm back through the bars and stepped back. A shiver ran through her when he opened the door and looked at her intensely. It was a mistake to touch him. She realized now that her senses could not be trusted down here in this dank holding area. She couldn't smell any arousal on the guard, but that didn't mean his intentions were pure. She took a step backward. At least the boy wouldn't see it.

Instead of the male entering the cell and pushing her into the far wall, the panther stood back and pulled the barred door open wide for her to exit. She drew her brows together and looked at him. "What?" It was the only word she could remember to express her confusion.

He sighed as she watched him closely. "I will not keep you." He again spoke very slowly, and she appreciated the gesture. "You may go."

It was a trick. She could not believe this guard would forfeit his position to help her. He sensed her unease and snatched her wrist quickly before pulling her out of the cell. Before she could turn away from him to dive back into the cell, he managed to shut the door and turn the lock. "No."

She felt herself begin to shiver. No no, she couldn't be out when he came back. He'd do that thing again. "No." She neglected to wipe away the small tear. "No, please, I—" she had no words to describe it to him. "Only Shippo, I, uh…gone if he sees."

Ueda could not make out what she meant, only that she was disturbed to no longer be in holding. He reached his hand out to calm her, but she began to become hysterical. "No! No ah." She made a sound that resembled a rough rock scraping against another while placing her hands on either side of her head with her fingers splayed so fully the panther could see the tendons straining. "No ah."

He realized she was using "ah" to substitute for a word she did not know. It must have been torture. He grasped her shoulders. "Calm! Easy. Nothing bad will happen."

She didn't fight his hands on her, but instead seemed to close up and calm suddenly. She breathed in and out slowly for a brief moment with her eyes shut, then opened them and nodded. "Alright. Yes. Shippo?"

The little fox youkai? Ueda had nearly forgotten. If this girl didn't know where her friend was, then he certainly didn't. A fox youkai. The panther's mind turned back to the small adolescent animal he had seen outside. He hadn't sensed any youkai, but looking at his recent abilities, that didn't count for much. Oh but that critter was much too small to ever be a youkai's beast form. Ueda eyed the young woman before him and recalled what her beast form was supposed to be.

"Huh…probably a good thing I am resigning." His teeth gleamed in the dim light as he felt himself chuckle.


	19. Chapter 19

Miroku scratched at the hand under his on the stiff white sheets. He didn't know how they expected a sleeping woman to remain warm in just a small garmat and thin covering. He groaned, thinking he'd have to push that frustrating button for the heeler—nurse. The last time he had tried the call button, he'd hit the bed adjustment, and it nearly frightened him to death. A moving futon was not his idea of normal. But then again nothing in this harshly lit place was.

He could see now why any time Kagome had a problem physically, Inuyasha insisted she come to her time to receive medical help. Like that time she had the horrible cough that turned out to be a light form of phenmonia. Miroku didn't know there was such a thing as mild consumption, he supposed it must have been mild with all the scores of medicines they had here. He'd blamed himself for that episode with Kagome. She had stayed with him in the cold rain one night after a battle when he had sucked up Naraku's insects into his windtunnel. Sango had been badly hurt as well, but it was he who had really required so much care at that time. They had no shelter, they simply had to bundle to the best of their abilities through the cold downpour.

Her hand was cold—the woman he'd only met earlier that day. Or perhaps it was yesterday, he'd lost count of the hours, and the clock on the wall was of no help to him. He couldn't recall what number indicated what time of day it was. The small hand—the one he did remember Kagome had reminded him to look for—was nearly at the three. The last time he looked it was just before the twelve at the top of the face.

He scratched gently at her skin again, taking in the creamy peach tone of it. It reminded him of Sango's. She with her pinker skin and lighter warm colored hair than most. Since he had been looking at this woman for hours now, he's noticed that she did in fact look a lot like Sango. Oh, her eyes were a different color, and more round, and her nose was large, but her skin…

He touched her cheek, reaching across her shoulder. Her face shape was exactly that of Sango's. Miroku didn't know why this seemed to bother him so. Why, many people has similar features after all. He lightly brushed a stray hair away from her face.

A voice cleared from behind him and he turned to see the short-haired nurse he'd met previously when she came to check Sue's vitals. He nodded to her as she approached with a small smile across her face. She thought they were a couple—or nearly one. He didn't mind, it allowed him to stay with her after visiting hours.

"Sir, do you mind if I interrupt?" She began to uncoil what he'd learned was a blood pressure cuff.

He nodded again and stood up, slightly regretful to lose contact with that skin. "Indeed you may, m'lady."

The nurse giggled a little. She found him charming, how sweet. Miroku smirked at the thought that he did pretty well with the ladies of this time era as he moved away from the bed.

"I'm going to go speak with the others, are they still in the…" he trailed off, not remembering the name.

"The lounge? I believe so, Sir."

He nodded. It had food machines. Kagome said the better food wasn't available at this time of night, but they would have to make do because Inuyasha was a hungry beast. Souta had gone home long ago to let their mother know what was up. Miroku thought that if he hadn't lingered for so long with the uncounscious woman, they would have also been back. He should probably not keep them any longer.

"Ah, I think we may leave for the night." He felt he should tell someone. She nodded as she pumped on the black bulb. The monk turned to leave the room, but paused as he remembered. "Oh, she is very cold. Could you please bring her a warmer blanket?"

With a smile the young woman told him that she'd get one as soon as she was finished. He thanked her and left the room.

* * *

Shippo felt the ache in his body—particularly his skull and shoulders. He rubbed his temples with his finger tips, massaging the pain away, failing to notice the source of his discomfort. He'd changed back to his humanoid form. He grit his teeth and pulled his hands back from his head before noting the fingers. _Fingers_. He flipped them over and glanced at the claws and lines in his palm.

He was back to normal, or well as normal as he could be, and his transformation had _hurt._ It never normally hurt. Struggling with his stiff back, the fox figured it must have something to do with the unnatural size shift. Sumi must have released him, because he hadn't yet figured out how to.

Sumi!

The boy lowered his gaze and remembered that the panther had gone back inside. Sumi would be the one hurt if he found Shippo gone. The teen felt a small whine escape his throat and he bolted for the door to the prison. He had to get her out—she couldn't suffer because she helped him.

Just as he rounded on the entrance, the guard in emerged from the dark interior. Shippo felt his heels dig into the cool night earth and he skittered to a stop, his eyesight right in the chest of the other male. Dear Kami, the man must be taller than Sesshomaru! Shippo tilted his head back to meet eyes with the dark feline. The hard lines of the older male's face were held in a very neutral expression. To this, Shippo didn't know how to feel. He quickly startled when from behind himself the guard pulled a woman with red hair out into the moonlight. He grasped her arm, and Shippo didn't know how tight the grip was, but Sumi didn't look good.

The woman's face was flushed and she was sweating profusely. Her lips were chapped and pale. Either he couldn't see these symptoms in the dark of their cell, or these changes had just recently occurred. More importantly, she looked as if she were about to have a heart attack. Her eyes were widened, her pulse racing, and her fear scent was nearly choking him.

Shippo felt a burn begin in his chest unlike he had ever felt before. He turned to the black panther youkai and felt a deep growl erupt from his chest. He'd never growled before—and it felt _good_.

The fox youkai felt his power surge and he stepped forward to the panther.

His voice was deep, gruff, and unlike he'd ever heard from himself before. But, at the moment he could only see red as he rasped his throat growled out his words.

"Let her go now, or I'll kill you."


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Mild lemon. Solo.

* * *

Ueda who held the nagual by the arm mostly to help hold up her shaky form, but also to get her out of the building. If he was leaving, so was she. He couldn't let her remain inside. He stopped with her when he saw the fox in his humanoid form. The boy was as naked as the day he was born and he didn't even seem to realize it despite the chill in the night air. His eyes were only on Ueda and the woman.

The panther's eyes widened when he noticed the boy's were glowing red. The teen probably didn't even know his youkai was nearly out f control, and Ueda didn't think it wise to mess with an erratic young male when his senses and battle abilities were lowered.

"Let her go now, or I'll kill you." The boy's voice growled out.

Fine by him. He released his grasp on her arm, and she slumped to the ground with a quick sigh. The boy's eyes seemed to clear in an instant as he rushed to the bent form. The panther remained still, allowing the fox to handle things as he might. He was territorial over the woman.

The boy helped her up, and she seemed to better gather her feet beneath her this time. She stood on her own with little help from Shippo, occasionally placing her hand out to his shoulder for support. Ueda thought she looked dazed—perhaps dizzy. As if she had been struck across the head. He hoped the boy didn't assume he'd caused this behavior.

Glancing back to the smaller male, the black panther slumped his shoulders and blew a small stray lock of hair out of his face. Yep, the kid was glaring him down. No red in his eyes, but the intention was for a fight. His stance was stiff with his feet wide. The older youkai looked at the younger fox and held back a small chuckle. He figured he knew what would prevent an attack.

Clearing his throat, Ueda smiled at the boy. "I'd fight you, but I would recommend tucking that in first." He gestured with his eyes between Shippo's legs.

The boy looked perplexed for a moment before looking for himself at the object of the panther's joyful gaze. What was just a bundle of red hair trailing down his back initially, soon became a full body blush as the boy turned and leapt into a string of shrubs close by. Ueda couldn't help but voice his laughter this time. The boy's rear end was even rosy.

The young woman to his side seemed to pull from her daze long enough to watch the boy bound into the brush with that fun color of red covering his skin. The panther watched from the corner of his eye as she covered her mouth and held back her own fit of laughter. His lips quirked in a faint upward pull before he got a hold of himself. Sumi breathed in then took a few steps forward and peered into the brush. Coming nose to nose with the young fox youkai, she felt the warm expression flood her face without her consent.

"I left my clothes behind." The boy's hands were cupped over his privates, but nothing could hide the full body flush that remained.

She nodded, pretty much understanding his meaning, then pointed behind her toward the cell.

The young one shook his head and cast his eyes away from her. "That doesn't normally happen when I transform."

Again she nodded, not knowing the words to tell him it was expected with her way.

The dark male behind the two announced that he would go back and retrieve the garments the boy had left. With a turn of his wide shoulders, the others watched as disappeared back into the building. It was then Sumi reached her hand out and touched Shippo on the cheek. She nodded to the man who just left their sight and smiled softly.

"Not hurt. No hurt."

The red haired male nodded that he understood, though he still looked very unsure of the creature who had been their captor only minutes before. Her hand moved from his cheek to the soft point of his ear and rubbed gently. The blush that had been leaving his face darkened intensely, and he pulled his head out of her reach without looking her in the eye. "Don't. Ugh, it's too much."

She raised an eyebrow at him, worrying she might have hurt him.

He winced and ducked further into the brush where she could no longer see any sign of his form but reflections of pale skin in the slight moonlight. "You—it's your breath again."

The nagual had not yet learned that word, but she hopped he wasn't disgusted by what she had done to him—leaving him without his clothes. It happened to her so often, she usually forgot the modesty of others.

Turning her head in the direction of where the panther had gone, she studied their surroundings. A small clearing in a dense wooded area. There was no keep, no castle, and no village. It was like the prison was built to be as far from anything civilized as it could. She vaguely wondered if that was because of who was normally kept there, or because of the person holding them. The dark figure once again emerged from the slightly descending entrance which took the structure about halfway below ground. She had no clue where they were, and she hopped this new alley would.

She sniffed at the air, then suddenly turned her whole body in the direction where Shippo _had_ been. The boy was no longer there at all. She sniffed and tried to pick up a trail, but unfortunately could not. In her other form she could perform such a feat, but she couldn't pull herself together enough to accomplish that anymore. She restrained an irritated growl at this. Perhaps the panther could track.

Running up to the tall being, she pointed to the forest outskirts where Shippo had been hiding moments before. "Gone." She said this empathetically hoping he would understand. He glanced to where she gestured and held up the clothing he'd retrieved for the boy.

"Yes?"

She shook her head and grabbed his hand with astonishing little fear in his opinion. He allowed her to guide him to the boy.

Shippo couldn't help it. It was like that first day he'd met her in beast form all over again. Only now, he knew her and had experienced that scent. Gods! It was like he was a drug addict, this high all the more potetent. She must not have realized what she did, because she'd be insane to do it at a time like this when they needed to get moving.

Shippo glanced down at his very hard member and clenched his teeth. There would be no moving for him until he took care of this problem. He'd barely made it to the stream, his legs were so stiff with need it was ridiculous. Normally, he'd get dressed, tuck it away and deal with it later. But tonight—oh tonight it was impossible. It was like his nerves were causing spasms throughout his muscles, especially in his lower half. He'd jerkily made it to his current spot, and now that he'd sat, leaning against a rock, he felt nearly paralysis from tension. His legs were so hard his hip joints refused to move, frozen in a forward position so that he looked as if he'd been stuck in mid-thrust. He blushed in embarrassment even though no one was there to see it.

It had to be done, and it had to be done quickly. There was no other way. The teen looked down at himself, the auburn hair curling around his privates not yet very thick, but the glands themselves fully matured. He reached his hand down and over his shaft, wrist almost as tight as his hips he could hardly bend it to relieve himself. He hissed as skin touched skin and he spent no time fondling or playing around. He took a brief second to catch his breath and fill his lungs, and then began pumping himself with blindingly fast strokes.

He felt his jaw locking in an open position, his eyes pressing shut at the feeling. He'd never done this before. He normally took his time, but there was no time, and within minutes he could feel the spiking ripples through his chest, down his gut, and into his hips—which now seemed able to move fluidly. There was a sound coming from somewhere close by, but he could barely hear it over his pounding chest.

He thought about her—he knew it was the only way, but he'd also grown used to the idea. He'd touched her before—maybe only in a dream, but he remembered the feel of soft skin. He could feel it under his free hand as the other nearly burned him in friction. Sumi was probably the most lovely female he'd met and it was no stretch to imagine her when he came, realizing the sound he'd been hearing faintly before had been himself grunting and panting with full vocals.

He came with a hard jerk to the gut and a loud cry into the night. A small droplet landed squarely on the tip of his nose, and he could faintly thank nature for keeping it out of his mouth. He pulsed, his body jerking all over at the feel, his hips bucking to completion. The red haired male closed his eyes and his body turned to liquid and nearly melted into the sandy earth as felt all the spasms end. Shippo hummed to himself and allowed the remains of the blood pounding into his ears to soften and slow to the softer beat of his heart. Without warning, he expelled a small giggle and stretched his back out, arching up, then settling down. He'd never felt so loose.

The young woman watched from behind a tree, grateful Ueda—that was his name, Ueda—hadn't followed her, but split off to find the boy on his own. She knew this was her fault at the way the red head had seemed nearly paralyzed at the commencement of it, and she also knew he had to get it out. She didn't have to watch though, that much she could not justify. She'd stayed initially to keep the panther from walking in on the boy in an embarrassing situation, but she didn't have to _watch._

She had, though, and no matter how normal it was to her, it was excited because it was Shippo. She flushed as she heard him voice odd words that were perhaps not even fully completed words at all—not that'd she know. Her hand shook and she retained her control as he began to buck his hips as his head fell back and his mouth wide. She wanted to join—it was her nature—her own mating pheromones had caused this involuntarily, so her beast wanted the boy. It was difficult to keep her body behind the tree trunk, clutching into the bark with her dark claws.

He'd never let it dictate her before and she certainly wouldn't now—especially not with such a young boy. He was nearly a kitten after all, and she wouldn't do that to him or herself. She was certain she couldn't breed with her current body weight, but a connection was made with sex. A promise. She knew foxes often had only the one mate once chosen, and her kind might vary more, but she'd never compromised herself. She'd never fallen prey to her beast but the one time.

She growled and dragged her claws against the tree—shame, it didn't deserve that. She turned away and allowed him a moment to recover after his seed had landed on his nose—a rater cute moment she had to admit. She bit her bottom lip with her fangs and forced her crotch to calm. She would not bed Shippo, and she would certainly not mate him. She had things to finish, and she wanted to go home.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Been a rough week. There will probably be a one shot fanfic of it up soon. Probably not an Inuyasha one though.

Been watching a lot of Glee, yes I know I am behind the times, and now the name "Sue" is completely different for me. . Should have come up with a different name.

* * *

Miroku felt his head bob against the back seat of this cab. They were on their way back to Kagome's. It had been decided that while Sue was still in her condition, Kagome would stay at the shrine in case there was an emergency or information needed. Inuyasha would go back through the well to inform Lady Kaede and Shippo why they were so late getting back. The monk rubbed at his eyes and scratched his chin. It would be dawn soon and he was exhausted. He'd go right into Kagome's house and fall right to sleep if he had his way. His medical appointment was in the morning.

His eyes burned and he closed them against the streetlights and cool air. He allowed his head to thump lightly against the window. Inuyasha sat beside him, then Kagome next to the other door. There was a comfort to his friend's silent touch as his knee rested against his own, and Miroku allowed himself this moment of weakness. With his eyes still closed, he pulled his head from the cool glass and leaned it back on the hanyou's shoulder.

The silver-haired young man jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, but didn't pull away. He craned his head to be able to view Miroku's quiet features. Inuyasha huffed slightly, then reached his hand up to pat his friend's shoulder. He'd barely touched the monk in the years they'd known one another, yet this was hardly strange to him. He'd always wanted a brother—well a _good_ brother—and Miroku nearly provided that kind of relationship for him. He smiled to himself as he turned back to watch the road ahead of them.

Kagome grinned at the scene beside her. With a small movement she placed her hand on Inuyasha's knee, bringing his attention to the girl.

There was something to the way she looked at him as she brought her other hand to his and wrapped her fingers through his. "Inuyasha?"

He nodded beside her, his cap bobbing on his head a bit.

She leaned against him and took in a shaky breath. "I'm so glad you are safe."

"Me?" His eyebrows pushed up under his bangs. "Look here. You are the one who bumped your head. You are the human who could have easily lost too much blood from a scrape."

Her hand gripped his. "Yes, but I am still so glad you were safe."

He shrugged, making his friend's head bob and a small snore escaped him. The monk had fallen asleep quickly. Inuyasha held back a chuckle.

"I'm glad I was the one in that seat. If anyone else had been sitting there, they'd have been crushed." He grumbled as he turned back to the young lady beside him.

She nodded. "That's very true. But it was scary for me."

"I was just so worried I'd crush the monk."

Smiling, she pulled back to see how close they were to home. A few more minutes and they would be there.

"Kagome?" The young man's voice was husky and almost understated. She looked to him and nodded that he should continue. He looked away for a moment then flicked his bangs to the side. "Uh…do you still want to go out tomorrow. On your date thing?"

She smiled. "I would. I'd want to drop by to check on Sue, but yes I would like that very much."

His face grew pink and remained that way until they got back to the shrine. The unloaded their bags (and Sue's) from the day of shopping and walked up the steps to the shrine. The three friends slipped quietly into the house since it was the early hours of the morning.

Kagome quickly made up a place on the couch for Miroku, apologizing for the lack of bed. He couldn't believe that she was apologizing as it was the most comfortable thing he'd ever laid on. She sat down at the end where his feet were tucked under a sheet and light blanket.

"Mom said she'd drive us to your appointment tomorrow." She giggled. "No more cab rides."

He nodded and pulled the hair tie from the nape of his neck, allowing the fine locks loose. "Thank you Kagome."

She began to rise to head up to bed where Inuyasha had already escaped, but stopped when she saw the down expression on her friend's face. Placing her hand over his, she watched as his flitted up to hers and back down to their place of contact.

"Miroku?"

She shook his head. "It is nothing I should be upsetting myself over."

"Yeah, but what is it anyway?" She rubbed the back of his hand.

He turned his over so that it was palm up and grasped her fingers for comfort. "As I said, it is nothing I could have controlled, but if that woman hadn't been with us—with me—she would have never gotten hurt."

Kagome figured that might have been bothering him. She sighed. "I'm glad she went with us." Miroku looked at her as her eyes moistened just a hint. "I like Sue, and I feel a sense of responsibility to her since she has no one," the young woman paused as she covered, "here. No one _here_. But, I'm glad she was with us during the car accident."

The monk's eyebrows lowered as he tried to understand her meaning. Certainly Kagome would never wish harm on another.

She waved him off. "Is sounds bad, but Miroku, if she hadn't been with us, _you_ probably would have been in the front seat of the cab. You would have been crushed. It was lucky Inuyasha had been sitting there since it was hit the worst by far."

The dark eyes looked into her warmer pair. The two sat still together on the couch like that for a few minutes before Miroku spoke. "Thank you. I know that probably would make you happy, that I was not hurt. But, it doesn't make _me_ feel any better. It is like I escaped the curse of the wind tunnel, just to send it on someone else."

She understood and expected him to feel that way. "Miroku. Any good person would feel like this. You shouldn't, but I understand why."

The friends sat in silence for another fifteen minutes or so before Kagome said goodnight and retired to her room upstairs. Miroku lay still for a long time looking at the ceiling and all the strange shadows cast across the room from the modern furniture, small kitchen light that was always left on, and the outdoor porch lights. The shadows looked elegantly disfigured to him, and they did nothing to sooth his conscious. He did fall into a deep sleep finally, after what seemed hours of lonely thoughts about the world.

Miroku dreamed of giant dragons eating honey brown-haired stranger all night.

* * *

Ueda smirked at the question. "Why would you think such a thing."

The younger male simply shrugged. "I guess because you have a similar feel to Sesshomaru and that's the only place I've felt it before."

The panther regarded him with surprised. "You know Lord Sesshomaru?"

Shippo quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, he's Inuyasha's brother."

Ueda stopped in his tracks as he turned to look at the red-haired teen. "Pardon? You know Lord Inuyasha as well?"

Shippo nearly laughed. "Pffft. Inuyasha? A lord?"

Ueda began to walk again. "He would be if Lord Sesshomaru would accept him into the family line properly. But, why does one such as you speak of the two with such familiarity?"

"Well, because Inuyasha practically raised me along with three other humans."

Again, the older youkai stopped and looked at the younger with amazement. "You mean you are _that_ kitsune? You helped to take down Naraku along side the two inu brothers?"

Shippo felt his ego swell and made sure to keep it in check. "Well, yeah. I didn't do much, but I helped some."

The man continued on their path and shook his head, causing his thick straight hair to shiver down his back. "To answer your question; no, I am not a taiyoukai. My father was a youkai lord though."

"And you are not."

He shook his head again, this time to answer the question. "My mother was not mated to my father, and I am not the first child."

"Oh." The boy nodded slowly. Not for lack of bloodlines or power. For status.

Behind the two chatting males, the nagual did her best to listen to their conversation. She was having a lot of trouble following—she knew the other youkai she'd met had been mentioned, but other than that she was only catching occasional words. Her brain was also overflowing with thoughts about Shippo. Too many thoughts.

They'd been walking all night in the direction Shippo assumed was correct to find the old human and her village, but they'd gotten nowhere. Trees were trees—Sumi had never been a good tracker so she hoped the men were. The sun was coming up, and that set her at ease to a degree.

She'd spent perhaps the last hour combing her black claws through her tangled hair, wishing she had a better way to deal with the long strands. Finally fet up with her own locks, she growled and brushed them behind her shoulders, glancing at the backs of the two traveling with her.

After watching the boy from behind a tree, Sumi nearly felt like a pervert. He was barely matured, even a human male would only have begun looking into courting at his age. Physically he was not much younger than her in appearance, but her kind lived long—perhaps longer than the titans she had met in this new land. It was hard to tell without methods of proper communication. She herself had been around since long before this boy, that much she could tell.

Glancing at his hair, pulled back in a braid today she noticed, she felt herself shiver. The worst thing happened. Her beast—so unruly under this curse—had not only decided she wanted Shippo, but she'd felt the changes as the first morning light crept upon the small group. The soft cooing sensations her sent throughout itself. It wasn't strong yet, only the beginning, but soon it would be so strong the panther and fox would surely smell it. She knew how they worked. Her beast from its separate and distanced place within her ha thrown her into heat. Perhaps she _could_ ovulate at this weight.

She felt herself growl again, pushing claws into her palms, then quickly dodged them behind her back when the boy turned from where he'd been talking with Ueda to look at her. He must have heard her growl.

He stopped, waiting for her to catch up to him she assumed. She grunted and walked to his side.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at him, believing she understood. "Sumi alright."

He smiled at her and she inwardly winced at the sight. Such a sweet child. Her beast wasn't often wrong, but it was now. She squelched down the urge to touch him and simply walked with him.

Shippo touched her arm to get her attention again. She looked up with a bit of a start.

The boy pointed to Ueda, the black panther, and began to speak. She cut him off with her hand. She hadn't caught the first few words and was lost.

"Again please." She said.

Slowing down, the red haired boy smiled enthusiastically. "Ueda is going to help Shippo and Sumi."

She nodded understanding and knowing. She'd figured that out when he forced her from the cell and at Shippo, rather than into a torture chamber.

"Well, after he helps us," the boy spoke clearly, "he wants a favor."

"Favor?" She did not understand this word.

"Uh…we will help him." She nodded, getting it. "He needs help with his lord…the one who took Sumi and Shippo."

She froze in place and stared at the boy. She'd just gotten out and now he wanted her to go back _in?_ Did he think she could do such a thing? She growled and pulled at her hair, misjudging a bit and raking a few strands out with her claws. She'd barely noticed, her mind turning to darker memories, but Shippo clasped his hand over hers.

"Sumi. What's wrong?"

She pulled back and looked at the two males. "No."

Ueda's expression did not change, but Shippo's face visibly dropped in front of her. "No? But why?"

She shook her head and clasped her fingers around her sliced hair. "No."

"Sumi." Shippo spoke softly and stepped closer, and she moved back to create that distance again. "Sumi, he helped us. He could have killed us, but didn't. We owe him something."

She didn't get all of his words, but she didn't have to. There was no way she would ever come face to face with that evil again. She was getting off this island as soon as she found a boat.

She stood firm and pointed her fist with the hair at the boy. "Shippo help Ueda. Sumi no help." She snarled and began to walk faster, upset yet again that she had no harness on a very large part of who she was. She could have been flying by now if she did. _I would be on my way home,_ she thought.


	22. Chapter 22

The trio stopped for food. Ueda really did not need anything, but Shippo was hungry and they both didn't think it was a good idea for Sumi to go without food in her condition. Besides, Shippo wanted an excuse to take a break from being around her. Her whole body was beginning to smell like a diluted version of her breath, and he needed to get some fresh air that wasn't making him feel tight all over and warm. So he went fishing at the stream that they'd been staying close to.

Ueda's nose was not what it used to be, but the man could smell a faint change in the air surrounding their female companion. He'd been able to catch it more when he'd walked at her side. When she sat down across from him as he built a small fire, he'd made an excuse to get closer to her to clarify that scent to him.

It was not unlike most female youkai's scents when they went into heat. Once satisfied that was indeed what he'd noticed, he sat down across from her again, stirring at the sticks in the fire. To him, a mated male, she did not smell attractive. Just different, but recognizable. However to Shippo, he could imagine her scent was probably very alluring. Perhaps that's why the fox had offered to fish for them all.

Ueda wondered how often a nagual might go into heat. Was it like inus? Where it was a regular time a year, or was it like most youkai which were about as fertile as often as humans? Ueda didn't know what her beast was, so he couldn't judge.

A thought occurred to him as he looked off into the trees where beyond the teen was fishing for their breakfast. Perhaps Sumi was like cat and panther youkai? Could it be that she could be forced into heat suddenly from a male their beast would find attractive?

If this were the case, it would be Shippo throwing her into heat, and he was a bit young to manage that. The panther rubbed his chin. The boy was old enough to breed, he just normally would not be viral enough to cause such a reaction from a more mature female. But, he was the only available male around. Maybe Sumi's hormones were just kicking in because she'd been alone for so long before meeting him. In holding. Maybe Shippo was more powerful than he first seemed. If his father had been a leader—an alpha—that could have passed on to him despite his sweet disposition. He was reminded of the boy's threat when he'd though he was hurting the nagual. Perhaps Shippo was simply quietly dominant.

Maybe this was why the girl had been in a sullen mood for the past few hours. She might be annoyed with her body. Ueda's older sister was often thrown into heat by her future mate—though she hated him at the time. A childhood rival, the boy was often irritating, and when Ueda's sister became old enough to respond to males, he was the main one who affected her cycles. She'd become moody and upset by it until the two finally started courting and she realized her childish rivalry with this male was no longer a concern. They still fought and verbally spared with one another nearly constantly, but his sister was happy.

Sumi kicked out her bare foot and connected her toe with a small pebble, sending it tumbling away with ease. Ueda smiled. Perhaps she _was_ irritated with her body's reaction to Shippo.

The silent youkai grinned softly at her, and Sumi who had been gently spacing in his direction, pulled back and brought herself into reality.

"What?" She asked.

His grin widened. He sniffed the air and pointed at her with a gleam in his eyes. She got the message and turned her head away and crossed her arms. The panther could laugh all he wanted. She growled softly and ignored the male.

Yep. Ueda nodded to himself. The boy threw her in, and she wasn't too happy about it. He held back another snort when she glared at him from across the fire. Tilting her head back, he watched as she sighed for his benefit. This time he did laugh, a sudden loud boom. She cocked her head back in his direction and wrinkled her nose. Smiling, he pointed in the direction which Shippo had taken to go fishing. A red hue crept over her brown cheeks and she looked away from the panther to her feet.

* * *

Shippo had caught five fish and was going for one last because he wanted to make sure there was plenty so Sumi especially would not be left wanting for more. Cupping his hands together under the water, he stood very still and let the current flow through his palms. He waited for the last fish.

Her scent had changed, and he wondered what it meant. He sometimes really disliked that he'd been nearly raised solely by humans. Something in the back of his spine told him the new scent was very important, but other than his obvious reaction by getting hot and bothered, he couldn't figure it out. He thought he'd ask Inuyasha when he got to see him, but since the hanyou had only been raised around humans also, Shippo doubted he knew what it meant. He'd ask anyway.

He felt a slippery touch, but kept his hands still, quelling his reactions until the fish was between his palms. No use in scaring it off before he even had a chance at it. The water flowed around and through his grasp. Patience was always the key. He smirked but let out no sound as he remembered nearly every time Inuyasha would attempt this, he'd wind up wet and cursing.

The teen felt a closer touch this time on his palm, as a fish seemingly felt around his skin. He allowed it to slide through just a touch more before he slapped his hands together, capturing the thing. He yanked it from the water and tossed it onto the grass before it could slip back into the water. It flapped about as Shippo walked from the water and rolled his clothing back down around his ankles.

He crouched down next to the dying fish and watched it flop.


	23. Chapter 23

The cardiologist's waiting room was packed. Kagome sighed as she slid down in her chair. Miroku kept playing with the beads on his wrist. He looked a bit odd with the beads and a black tee shirt and jeans, but Kagome figured that at this point it was just as much a part of Miroku as his right hand. She didn't know if the man would ever get rid of the cloth and beads.

The young monk sat beside her reading a popular magazine one often found in reception areas. Kagome glanced over to the article her friend was reading and held back a smirk when she saw it was an interview with a politician currently running for office. Er, well it had been current at the time this issue was realized. Kagome wasn't surprised to find it was several months old. Another benefit of waiting rooms.

Miroku seemed to be studying the article intensely. She tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up, a bit startled from being pulled out of his reading. "Yes?" He adjusted the way he was sitting.

Kagome spoke quietly. "Wouldn't you rather read something more…oh I dunno. Fun?"

The young man quirked an eyebrow at her. "Actually I find this very fascinating."

With a small smile she nodded. "Yeah I guess you would. You following everything alright?"

"I am confused about one issue being discussed."

"Oh?" Kagome leaned over his shoulder to view the text. "What is that?"

"They are talking about another country I assume when they say 'United States of America.' Well, why are relations with that country one of the main topics in the scroll?" He pointed at a small paragraph in particular.

Kagome eyed it. "Oh well, that's because they are a pretty big country and we do a lot of trade with them." Miroku seemed a little shocked at this, but the girl had informed him before that Japan was no longer secluded. "And when this magazine came out, they had just held their latest presidential election. It was a pretty big deal."

Miroku nodded, seeming to figure out most of it. "They are talking about a lot of change. Is the new leader starting a reform?"

Kagome didn't quite know how to answer this. "Uh well, not really it's just…um the Americans had one person in office for eight years who's policies were totally opposite of their new president. Also, I guess most of the world felt the former leader wasn't really up to par—I didn't follow much because I spent most of my time with you and politics really aren't my thing…hehe." She scratched her head and let her voice drift.

Miroku looked at her. She couldn't quite see what the expression on his face meant, but before she could ask, he'd turned back to the article and was fully immersed. Kagome let out a small puff of a sigh and looked around the waiting room. They were probably the two youngest people there.

Under her breath and without thought she spoke. "And I guess the new guy isn't Caucasian, so that's a big deal too."

Miroku flipped down the page to glance up to her. "Hmm?"

Kagome groaned at herself for that. "Sue…she's American. Well for a long time most politicians in the U.S. were Caucasian like her. The lighter skin, longer noses, lighter hair and eyes than us. But the new president, he has African bloodlines which means he's darker skinned with very curly hair."

The man continued to look at his friend as if she'd grown an extra nose. She struggled to explain. "Uh well, for a long time African people were slaves in American, then they had freedom, but weren't treated as equals. It was only recently," and damn history, but she couldn't remember how recent, "they were like any other citizen. There is still a lot of hate toward that race. It's not the majority of Americans, but it's still a lot. So…when a president—head of the country—was elected based on popular votes, it was a major milestone in their history."

"So…" the man seemed to struggle. "Did Japan ever do that?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Oh but we did alley with the Germans during the Holocaust."

"Hollow-cost?"

She covered her face with her hand. "Never mind. Later, I'll give you all my school history books. You can catch up on your own."

After another fifteen minutes of questions centering around out-dated political discussions in that magazine, Kagome took it from him and handed him a swim suit issue.

"Wh-what's this?" His eyes grew wide as he took the papers gently into his hands as if he were afraid to touch it.

She giggled. "It's what girls wear to swim. It's perfectly normal today."

The man pawed at the pages, flipping through the images quickly. "You mean young unmarried ladies wear such things in public here?"

"Yep. Often."

"Kami."

They ate in silence, which was a bit too much for Shippo. He chewed his cooked food slowly. He'd grown up with a taste for human food. Though he didn't know if he could eat raw meat like Ueda seemed to prefer, he knew he wasn't like Sesshomaru. He needed food. The young male glanced at the older as he sucked the uncooked meat off his fish. He vaguely wondered if Sumi would have preferred it like that, as he'd just automatically cooked hers with his own.

She seemed content with cooked food though, both the stew he'd brought her the other night, as well as her large fish she munched on now. Shippo bit his lip. He had a vague notion that Sumi would normally be the type to eat with at least some semblance of manners, but that her body's current condition would not let her take the time to show them. She scarffed at the fish nearly as gluttonously as Inuyasha.

Shippo eyed this behavior then turned to Ueda once his mouth was clear. The panther looked him over as he finished his first fish.

"Yes?" He asked after a swallow.

Shippo tilted his head. "Do you need to eat food?"

"Occasionally, more so recently." The last he said with a grumble as he bit into the next fish.

Shippo's interest grew. "Because Sesshomaru once huffed off food we offered him saying he didn't eat."

Ueda's shoulders vibrated as he laughed with his mouthful. After he swallowed he spoke. "Still comparing, eh?" He looked at the wide-eyed teen. "Lord Sesshomaru has a stomach and guts just as you are I, Shippo. He eats. Probably very rarely, but I am sure he does."

"Why would he say that?"

The panther, still amused by the conversation, laughed once more. "The old goat probably likes everyone to think that. There is legend that the most powerful youkai can sustain themselves on their powers alone, but we aren't ghosts are we Shippo?" The man took another bite.

Shippo shook his head. "No. We are physical creatures. If one has flesh and bone to break, he needs sustenance."

Ueda nodded. "Now, do I believe he could go years without? Yes—but only in a dormant state. Sort of like the rumors of Inuyasha being pinned to a tree for years. But Shippo, that isn't something special to youkai and hanyou. There are frogs that do that." He licked his fingers as he finished.

Shippo, just now remembering his second fish, downed it in a hurry and turned to look at Sumi who wasn't pay attention to them from across the dying fire. He noted that she was nearly finished as well.

Without thinking about it, the boy asked; "how often do you eat?"

The other male seemed to consider this before he answered. "Now I eat every few days. I probably would not die without food that often, but I am uncomfortable if I go longer than four. It used to be uncomfortable for me to eat less than two times in each moon cycle."

"Wow." The boy stared wide eyed.

Ueda chuckled as he stood and began to put out the fire with dirt. "But, don't let anyone else be a guide for you, Shippo. If you feel hungry, eat. You will bounce back from injury and exhaustion better with sustenance even if you don't 'need' it."

The teen got up and began to help the older Youkai snuff out the burning coals.

Sumi watched out of the corner of her eye. She had become very good at noticing things without others seeing that she did. There was actually a spell her kind had to make it more astute, but she'd rarely needed to use it. When you grow up called a witch, you learn to keep your eyes peeled.

Shippo seemed ready to go, as did Ueda. Sumi finished her fish—really she could have eaten more, but there was no way the boy would know her appetite. He was probably used to feeding humans from what she knew of him. The two large fish did sit well on her gut, though, and as she stood she let a sigh pass her lips.

The boy stopped kicking soil on to the fire and came to her side with a grin. He touched her hand lightly to—well she didn't know _why_ he would touch her—but she removed it from his reach, turning away from him and walking in the direction they'd been headed previously. A bit stunned at the shun, Shippo's face turned slightly red as he walked past Ueda with slumped shoulders. The panther youkai found he once again had to bite back a laugh. This was going to be a fun trip.

"This is your way back, but it is also on the way to my home. I need to stop and see my mate before we continue onward."

Shippo stopped and looked back at him. Sumi did the same from further ahead—though she couldn't understand a word he said.

"Will it take long?" The boy tucked a red strand of hair behind his ear.

Ueda shook his head. "No, but I need to speak with her none-the-less. She will not be following us."

At the expression on his dark face, Shippo moved closer to his new companion. He stopped just in front of him and spoke very quietly. "Is she in danger because you left your post with us?"

Without a flinch, the panther nodded. "She will be when he finds out."

"Where will she go?"

The older male began to move to encourage Shippo back on track. "He does not know where my home is, though I would prefer for her to be with her clan when she is in such a state."

The boy walked with him. "What state?"

"My mate is pregnant. Due very soon."

Shippo fumbled for words. "Uh…why would you be putting yourself in this position now?"

The man beside him simply walked, seemingly unwilling to answer. Shippo decided he wouldn't push it. He must have his reasons. Though the boy felt a weight in his gut, thinking about how he would not be so careless with his offspring. Running away from a powerful lord at a time like fox eyed Ueda then walked ahead to reach Sumi.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

Sumi turned to the young fox. "Hm?" She raised a questioning eyebrow to him.

"Uh…" The boy touched his stomach and made chewing motions with his other hand. "Hungry?"

She put her hand up and shook her head. "No. Alright."

That smell again. The teen tried his best not to inhale through his nose, but then the air tasted too sweet. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck. He was tired from a night with no sleep, but it wasn't terrible. He found himself glancing at the female beside him, watching her hair bounce as she walked. He licked his lip.

When her eyes met his, Shippo startled. Swiftly turning back to eye the trail rather than her, reviewed her expression in his mind. The glance was almost accusatory/ _How well can she smell?_ Shippo wondered. She seemed to rely on her sense of smell more than a human woman would, but not as much as Inuyasha.

Shippo didn't want her to smell his arousal.

He blushed and tried to think about Kaede bathing.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Sorry it has been a while. This past month I've been pretty sick, and most of the time I had was spent sleeping and getting my stuff together to get my master's. I'll do my best not to let it happen again.

* * *

Shippo found himself watching the female again and sniffed, trying to determine what that scent was without affecting his state of mind. It was like a spicy candy, as it had been the day she'd blasted him with her breath. It was less concentrated, but the same.

"Uh, Sumi?"

The woman with the ink on her face glanced in his direction as she continued to walk.

Shippo took that as the best acknowledgment he was going to get. "Why do you smell so strong now, Sumi?"

He was surprised when she stopped in her tacks and gaped at him. He was even more astonished when she blushed, her brown cheeks gaining a slight warm glow. Shippo heard a chuckle from behind them and knew Ueda was listening in. With a concerned expression, Shippo reached his hand out to touch her shoulder, which she pulled back from, avoiding the contact.

He pulled his hand back as if he'd been stung. "Sumi?"

She growled under her breath, a clear warning to stay back.

Perhaps she was sick? Inuyasha always acted like this when he felt like crap. Maybe she was more feral than he initially thought. Shippo simply fell into place beside her, quietly investigating the sweet scent without opening his mouth.

* * *

Miroku didn't know what he was more fascinated with. The multitude of charts depicting the inside workings of the human heart—which he had been studying for the past twenty minutes in depth—or the nurse's rolly chair.

A simple mechanism, he was sure, but as it glided across the shiny floor with the middle aged nurse sitting upon it, Miroku felt delighted. So much grace in simply sitting and moving! He cocked his head to the side and tried to keep attention on the woman who was charged with obtaining his medical history.

"Any medications you are taking at this time?"

Miroku felt that was an odd way to ask a question, but alright…

"Nothing."

The table he sat on was bulky and rather high up. Miroku felt a bit uncomfortable, but there had been insistence he sit there and Kagome was to sit in the only chair without wheels. The young woman had helped him with a few questions so far, but he was glad he'd been able to answer most on his own. They were saying he was Kagome's cousin, her mother's nephew, though he wasn't sure Mrs. Higurashi had any siblings. This office probably didn't know that.

"And any history of allergies?"

"Uh…I seem to be more sensitive to bees and wasps than most."

Beside and below him, Kagome grabbed her face and groaned.

"Anything else?"

He shook his head as he intertwined his fingers. "No, my lady. Not that I know of."

The nurse, despite her age, blushed at Miroku's natural charm and the formal title which meant something completely different in this time era. She sat back in her chair and noted something on her clipboard, then fanned herself. Miroku couldn't help but grin.

* * *

Considering how long they'd waited thus far, it wasn't very long before the doctor himself came in. When he entered the small room, Miroku was a bit surprised to see a very large man with glasses bow to Kagome and ask how her grandfather was feeling.

"Good good. He says he takes too many pills though."

The man, who was a full head above Miroku and as wide as two of him—though honestly it looked as if little of his width was made up of fat—suddenly opened his mouth and a nice rolling laugher filled the room directly from his belly.

He sat across from them on the small chair—Miroku again amazed by it, but this time for its strength. "Well, for his age, he takes very few. I have many patients who have eight pills four times a day after all."

She nodded. "I always tell him this. Three pills once a day is nothing to complain about."

The man thumbed through the clipboard in his hand, scanning it lightly. "Nope nope. That surely it isn't." He took a small breath and dropped the small stack of papers he'd held up by the corner so that it lay flat on the board. "So, Miroku, nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Caligari.* What can I do you for?"

Miroku was a bit dumbstruck. "Oh eh well, I had pains in my heart it would seem."

The man pushed his glasses back absently with a thick finger. "Is it constant? Or does it come and go?"

"Comes and goes."

"During physical exertion or emotional stress?"

"Both, but not always either."

The large man took down more notes. "Do you exercise regularly, Miroku?"

Miroku sighed and thought on that. "Well, I used to constantly walk and practice hand to hand combat, but recently I have had a softer life and I haven't kept up with my training."

Kagome interjected. "He's also been a bit concerned about this heart problem, so he's avoided doing a lot of physical exercise."

Miroku felt himself grow red. He didn't want everyone to know how much it concerned him. The man across from them crossed his ankles and smiled warmly. "Well then, we'll need to get you fixed up so you can go back to your training."

The wording actually eased the young monk's embarrassment. He thought he might indeed like this man. Said man began to take down a few more notes while simultaneously asking Miroku questions. How did these episodes feel, had he ever fainted from one—no he hadn't, but he'd come close. Did it spread into his arm at anytime? No.

"Is your pulse irregular at other times."

"Doesn't seem so."

"Good…now, have you ever have rheumatic fever?"

Kagome was alerted by this it seemed. She sat up in her chair and clutched her purse.

Miroku felt himself grow tense from her reaction. "Uh, I do not believe so."

The doctor ceased writing and folded his arms over the clipboard. "Do you have any reoccurring joint pain or stiffness?"

Miroku shook his head.

"Any sustained lumps or nodes under the skin?"

His eyes widened at that. "No Sir."

The man looked at him for a moment, then a wide grin erupted on his face. "Then it doesn't sound like you've ever had rheumatic fever. That is good." He began to jot something else down.

Miroku felt as if he were in a whirlwind. He sat back on his paper covered table and relaxed. The man in front of him placed the clipboard on a counter and rolled to him, adjusting an odd jewelry piece around his neck. Miroku was all the more surprised by this thing when the doctor pulled it up so that the ends sat in his ears.

"Alright now. Deep breaths…" and touched the medallion to Miroku's chest. Miroku obeyed on command though, and took in a large full breath.

"Again."

Miroku took breath after breath as the man rotated around his body to his back, never once getting off his little stool. Any other medical professional would have needed to get up to reach him at the table's height, but not Dr. Caligari.

Then the man came back to Miroku's front and pressed the medallion to his heart. "This time," he said, "breath normally."

Miroku followed his instructions and did just that.

After a moment, the doctor drifted back on his stool, grabbed up the clipboard and took a few more notes. Kagome seemed tense waiting for any news. Miroku wondered what she was waiting for.

"Well," the large man began. "I did hear a murmur."

Kagome nodded, her neck cording in strain. It was as if she was readying for a fight, but she knew she couldn't purify any disease inside her friend. Miroku nearly felt bad for relying on her so.

"I'd like to order an EKG due to the symptoms, his age, and the murmur I hear."

Kagome nodded. "When would you like that done?"

The doctor scribbled a bit while answering her. "Actually, today if you have the time."

Miroku was lost, but luckily Kagome seemed to follow. She nodded, "we have all day."

He began writing furiously. "Good, then right after the EKG I'll have radiology send you right back up here." He grinned as he put down his pen. He pulled off a page and handed it to Miroku. "Give this to Goru down in radiology. He'll be the one at the desk."

Miroku took the paper and tried to read over it. There was little he could follow.

"Alright, so I'll see you both again this afternoon. Miroku, pleasure to meet you."

The young man stood up and bowed. "Thank you."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: I'm a bad bad author. *spanks self*

* * *

The faint sounds of crickets surrounded them as they sat under the dark night sky. The grass tickled against his exposed ankle as the wind drifted through the field. She sat beside him with her feet tucked under her. Her hair was down, a style he'd only seen her wear a handful of times. Her chocolate strands drifted lightly in the cool breeze.

Miroku shifted in his seat to better see her. She was as usual beautiful, but her eyes seemed to glint abnormally bright in the moonlight. Her soft smile touched her eyes as she looked back at him, returning the gaze. Her kimono wasn't her normal pink and green frock. She was in her sleeping robes, white as the stars. He glanced down at himself and found he was in a similar state of dress.

Sango tilted her head and closed her eyes, breathing in the night hair. "The season is about to change."

He nodded dumbly, unsure of why they were sitting in a field in their bedclothes.

She opened her eyes and stared out at the meadows before them. "I missed you while you were away, Miroku."

The monk stared at her for a moment before asking, "Was I gone?"

She nodded, her bangs bobbing lightly as if her hair was floating in water. "For so long…"

Miroku, conflicted by the current imagery and his memories of her rejection, found himself unable to grasp a direct chronological line of thought to how he came to this point. Back to Sango.

"I thought you did not want this." He watched her, waiting for her response.

Her eyes did not meet his, but her hand came up to rest on his against his knee. "That was not the case. M-my brother…"

"Kohaku?" He nudged her to continue.

She nodded, but dropped off the rest of her sentence. They sat again in silence for some time until she spoke again.

"I did not think he would live. When the shard—" the young woman's voice seemed to fall at that point.

"When the shard was removed," Miroku finished for her. She nodded. "Sango? Is Kohaku still alive?" He looked at her wide eyed.

She turned to look at him and nodded slowly. "He is. In his own way."

Miroku, knowing by the look on his love's face that it wasn't necessarily good news, remained sober. "Sango, in what way?"

Somewhere in the distance he caught the mating call of a frog.

For many moments the two sat there, staring at each other or the view. Miroku began to wonder if the woman was ever planning to answer him. But then she spoke, carefully and with much caution. As if the words themselves could bring on a curse.

"I believe Naraku is keeping him alive."

Miroku felt his right hand pulse at the name, a sharp pain gnawing into his palm. He didn't need to look to know it was only in his head, and not a physical reemergence of his wind tunnel. Any time he heard that name, the paranoia returned.

"Naraku is dead…is he not?" He felt his right hand grow into a fist.

She nodded. "Naraku is no more, but I believe he left one last gift or curse on my brother by allowing him to survive without the shard in his back."

Miroku breathed deeply. "How long have you known of this?"

The response was shy and quiet, almost guilty. "Months."

He felt himself grit his teeth in distress and slight anger. "When did you plan to tell me?"

She shook her head, the hair no longer floating, simply hanging limply. "A week ago, when I came to you…do you remember?"

He felt himself grind his teeth at the memory of her coming to his bedroll in the middle of the night. She had leaned against him and kissed him, but had not said anything before she left to go back to her place in Kaede's hut.

"I do, though you did not say a word at that time, Sango."

"I didn't. I wanted to. I meant to, but when I fell back to sleep that night—and I did very quickly as if I were exhausted—I woke up somewhere far from the village."

"Someone took you?" He allowed his jaw to fall slack.

"Kohaku did, yes. He knew I was going to reveal him."

"Sango, I spoke with you the day after—" but he didn't continue. He was fairly sure he knew what occurred.

"That was not me, but a kitsune, a fox youkai trickster my brother hired."

"Why did I not sense the youkai aura?"

"That…" She stood and brushed off her bottom, he found himself eyeing despite the situation. "That I do not know…where he kept me until last night also had such barriers against youkai aura. There were two new ones brought, and I could not tell what they were."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" I felt he could understand her reasoning if she could only tell him.

She looked down at him with her large brown eyes and grasped her hands against her belly. "I-I thought…Miroku when I first saw him, after all that time of thinking him dead…" she trailed off looking at the field of flowers.

"You wished for time with him?"

"Yes. At first." Her gaze floated back to his face and she seemed to study his features. "It wasn't long before I knew something was very wrong with my Kohaku—that he was my brother less and less."

Miroku was about to ask if he was again losing his memories or even worse, his mind, but the woman waved at him when he opened his mouth.

"My brother is no longer a child, Miroku. He is a strong young man…he looks so much like our father." She closed her eyes and allowed a small puff of air to escape her lips. "He is strong, and I do not find it easy to control him anymore. "

"Why would you need to?"

"There are times—which has been coming on more frequently—when it has become necessary to do so." From her tone, it was clear to him that she did not wish to speak of it.

"Can you tell me no more?"

"I would rather not at this time."

"Sango," Miroku peeled his eyes from her to stand himself and look her in the eye. "I have not been faithful."

The touch of her hands against his fingers as she gripped his skin soothed and surprised him. Normally, he'd expect a sound beating, but the woman before him had a slightly lop-sided grin hanging on her cheeks.

"Oh have you?"

"Yes…you may beat me now." He winced as he closed his eyes, preparing for a blow he was actually well deserving of.

He heard a faith laugh, and cracked open his eye to watch the insane woman. "Hmm, well, let's just say you're off the hook this one time, eh?"

He blinked. "Uh…s-sure."

* * *

"Miroku? Wake up."

The young monk awoke to the view of his friend above him. Kagome had her hair tucked behind her ears, but it still fell forward into his gaze from her bent posture. He felt his eyes blink at the strong over head lights and he sat up with a slight crack in his back.

"Thank you. How long have I slept?" He rubbed at the back of his neck which seemed sore.

She smiled and patted his hand. "A little less than a half hour. I think you were out as soon as you were in the tube."

He nodded and swung his legs over the side of the hard plastic bed. The young man operating the large machine—which Miroku still didn't fully understand—was looking at him with a grin. He waved him off and helped him to his feet along side Kagome.

"Don't worry too much about it. A lot of people fall asleep."

Again, Miroku found himself nodding with little to say in return. He was still thinking over his dream from his short nap in the medical devise. Still dealing with his lingering feelings over his too realistic meeting with Sango. He wanted to believe everything the dream girl had told him, but he knew he couldn't get such hopes up over an illusion spurred by his desire for a relationship with her.

"Let's go back up to the waiting room."


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: It seems that I have trouble keeping a wring schedule going during the summer. You'll have to forgive me for this and I will try to plan writing around summers. I'm just so busy and erratically so.

On the upside, I've already got a good start on the next chapter and I feel I can maintain a more consistent update schedule now that I am back to a fairly regular routine. Thank you all for continuing to read this.

* * *

Shippo found that breathing through his mouth worked pretty well to clear his head when Sumi's scent began to overpower his senses. Over the last few hours her smell had become much, much stronger and sweeter—it would be sickeningly so if it didn't have that soft cinnamon undertone to cut it. Also, over the past few hours, the woman had become increasingly annoyed with him. At first he did his best to remain cheerful and hold steady conversation—well as much as he could with how little Sumi knew of Japanese—but it only caused her to pull away from him. Then he tried simply being silent, and that had been less effective. It seemed with the lack of words, his very breath and footfalls perturbed her to no end. She'd huff if he sniffed at the air too obviously, she sighed at his tail swishing behind him. He simply couldn't please her.

And all this time Ueda seemed to be watching from behind the two, smirking and occasionally giggling from his place on the trail. Shippo felt he needed to break Sumi and himself from this cycle, and so had been considering options. But the worst part was the panther's chuckling. It was as if he were watching a funny play or something. Shippo didn't really mind being his entertainment, but it seemed to make the situation worse for Sumi, which in turn made the situation worse for Shippo.

What would Inuyasha do?

Scratch that.

What would Miroku do?

Uh…

Well, Kagome would probably try the same thing he did at first, so that was out.

Sango would simply walk in silence and ignore the huffing—which he couldn't seem to do properly.

Damn it. His choices were to provoke her into a fight that might end in finding a solution, or to grope her bottom. He silently thanked the men who'd raised him for showing him the best ways to deal with women. He rolled his eyes as he thought this.

Well…provoking first.

Attempting to create an Inuyasha-like harshness to his tone, Shippo spoke up. "What's your problem anyway?"

The young woman glanced at him from behind her long red hair. "Hm?"

"You," Shippo tried to expand on the uppity attitude he didn't naturally have. "You and your huffing," he made a hard sighing sound while pulling up his shoulders and dropping them as he released his air. "It's freakin' pointless."

She looked at him as if she hadn't fully caught his words, but understood the fake sigh with the tone of his voice. She stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms. "Shippo, no."

This surprised him a bit. Was she trying to end a fight before he got it started?

"'Shippo, no,'" he repeated with a mocking tone. He sure hoped she wouldn't lash out."What's that? I want to know what I am doing that's so wrong."

He heard Ueda behind them stop and he was probably intrigued as all get out.

The woman before him narrowed her eyes. It caused the tattoos to crinkle around them. "No Shippo."

"I want to know what I've done wrong." He pressed his fist against his chest. He was sure he was failing at sounding tough.

"No Shippo." She widened her stance and dug her toes in the ground. "No more talk."

Was she really going to fight him? He looked to the panther behind them and then back to Sumi. He figured if the fight got bad enough Ueda would put a stop to it. Big guy that he was and all. Alright then. Physical fight it was.

Shippo shrugged and shoved Sumi backwards by the shoulder. "I want to talk."

She stumbled back a step, obviously not having expected anything from such a nice male. _Don't let the orange puffy hair kid you lady. I'm a mean one I am._ He nearly laughed at himself out loud.

She stood back in her original position. "Good. Talk."

He blinked at this. Just like that? And she was willing to hear him out?

A small smile cracked across his face. "Oh cool. We—"

Suddenly the fox youkai was on the ground with the breath knocked out of him. He blinked as he saw her standing above him. _Oh you little—_

With a heavy huff he felt her knee land on his sternum. She fought dirty!

He winced at the contact, but now she was within his reach. He threw his hands up around her waist and pushed her off of him, following through with his own weight so that he hovered over her. She gasped as she hit the dirt, losing her breath in turn. Shippo felt himself let out a small "ha-ha" in her face just before she wrinkled her nose and punched him in the side of the neck. Shippo felt himself rock on top of her, nearly falling to the side, but he managed to stay on steady.

He blinked as he looked down at her with a snarl. "That wasn't very nice."

She matched his snarl, then grinned suddenly. _Huh?_ Shippo thought.

That's when her jaw dropped and that mist flew out from her mouth into his face. The familiar sweet candy scent shot straight from his nose into his groin, causing the young male to grow instantly hard on top of the attractive female.

She tried to push him off of her, but even though she was taller than him, she was still malnourished and so remained pinned under his weight. As for his part, Shippo felt extra heavy all over from the drugged breath, and he didn't feel steady enough to do much more than fall on the culprit.

"Ugh!" She groaned under him and again tried to roll the two to the side so that she might slip away. She was unsuccessful as she felt a warm nose nuzzle into her shoulder. _This was not the best idea ever_, she thought. A slick sensation hit her as Shippo's tongue slipped from his lips to graze across her skin. She jumped at the touch and felt her heat spike. _Dumb idea altogether._

Then the panther male was above her looking down. He seemed to be grinning at the two, but she couldn't be sure as he was nearly silhouetted by the noon-day sun.

She grunted as she pushed the fox up from her just a bit. "Help?"

The male above them laughed, but reached for her just the same. He pulled the boy up by the collar and with his other hand, he helped her to her feet. She sputtered backwards away from the fox, while Shippo himself just hung limply from Ueda's grasp as he stared her down. With a heavy jaw and a tongue that felt swollen beyond use, the teen attempted to speak.

"Sumi?"

She stayed back but nodded. It was her fault he was in this state after all. "Yes?"

He turned a little, twisting the fabric of his haori. "I'm hungry?"

She blinked at that and took a moment to assess. "Hungry?"

He nodded and slumped more, nearly laying on the panther youkai behind him. Ueda rolled his eyes and snapped out a claw. He poked Shippo in the bottom, and the young male lurched away from the older. "That works," the older said with a grin.

"Hungry?" The young woman looked to Ueda.

The panther male shrugged and gently set Shippo on the ground, where the boy gained enough sense that he blushed at his obvious aroused scent.

Ueda looked at Shippo and spoke to Sumi. "Well, if he is hungry, the boy should eat."

Sumi took a second before she nodded, seemly understanding what he meant. "I go."

The teen looked up at her then with wide eyes. "Go?"

The female nagual held back a laugh, allowing only a soft smile to form on her lips. "Shippo…I go…fix Shippo hunger."

He nodded, "Yeah…hungry."

"I go." She nodded and walked into the woods.

Shippo let out a heavy breath. It was suddenly easier to breathe now that she was out of sight, though his lower body was tensing as it had before when he'd be affected by her scent. And, as before, it wasn't settling down or going away.

"Would you like some privacy, Shippo?"

He could hear the jolly tone in Ueda's voice, but answered anyway. "Yes, please."

* * *

In time, the three came back together. Sumi who had brought down a small deer, Ueda who seemingly did nothing while on his own, and Shippo who managed to walk back to the small clearing beside the path without stiff legs. The fox was surprised to see the young woman dragging in the small buck by the hind legs and he quickly trotted over to help her.

Ueda spoke up as they ate the barely cooked deer meat. "So…hungry again?"

Shippo crossed his legs and simply took a bite from his meal. The panther youkai chuckled to his left.

"You know, I went through a growth spurt when I was about your age." The black-skinned man sat with his arms crossed—he hadn't dug in the way Shippo and Sumi had.

Shippo glanced her way as he watched her gnaw on a bone. He wondered if he'd underfed her before.

Absent-mindedly, the boy spoke. "Oh? Growth spurt?"

The older male shook his head. The boy was distracted by Sumi again—not really surprising.

"How much do you normally eat?" Shippo leaned in to the female sitting on the log beside him.

She quirked an eyebrow in his direction as she sucked on the end of the bone, working the marrow. Shippo was reminded of Inuyasha at that moment and he had to look away from the woman. She was doing that thing where she was smelling sweet again—though she hadn't really ceased it at all. He thought he might becoming immune to it, or at least less sensitive—maybe. Hopefully.

"Much hungry," came the sound from his right.

Shippo turned back as she wiped her lips with her sleeve. She must have meant she generally had a big appetite. Why did the words send a shiver down his spine?

The boy eyed the collar of her white upper clothing. It had parted some in their travels, and Sumi seemed in no hurry to close it back up. The crease that formed at the root of her breasts was visible, and he swallowed as he tried to remember if he had ever seen that before. Well, he supposed he had seen Kagome and Sango nude, but that was when he was small—long before he ever knew what sexual urges were. The two before him were a warm brown that was highly uncommon in Japan.

He found himself leaning forward to—sniff? Nuzzle? Lick? Perhaps all. Pulling himself back, Shippo trailed his eyes back to hers and he realized she had seen his near molestation. Her mouth was stuffed full with venison, and a thick brow remained cocked above her left eye. _Oh this is _not_ good._

Shippo tried to revert back into his cute butterball of an eight-year-old form, but found his body refused to allow him to leave this more sexually available age. He stared as the woman pulled and ripped a new piece of meat from the bone she'd been gnawing on without once dropping her gaze from his. The young fox gulped.

They sat like that—her chewing and gnawing on the bone and scraps of meat left—him too shocked at the action he was about to take and that she seemed to know _exactly _what he'd been about to do. They sat staring for a good five minutes and only came out of it when Ueda cleared his throat with a hoarse cough. Shippo immediately pulled his eyes from her and back to his own food. He plowed through his remaining meat so quickly he nearly caused himself a stomach ache. She remained, seemingly uncaring about the older male in the clearing.

"Shippo, will you be alright to continue now?" The panther youkai stood and dusted off his clothes.

He watched as she tore at another piece of meat, a small amount of juicy blood trailing down the side of her chin. He nodded and felt his neck was moving very choppy.

"Y-yes. I'm ready."


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Thank you all for still reading. Next chapter is in the works.

* * *

"Aortic valve stenosis is when the aortic valve opening narrows."

Miroku sat on the small table as Kagome pseudo rocked back and forth in her chair by pushing the wheels back and forth. The back left one seemed to be a squeaker, and Miroku had no idea what the heeler just told him. He folded his hands over his knees—he wasn't yet used to these new clothes. The jeans were a too tight to his liking.

"Miroku?" Kagome had stopped rolling her chair and was now looking up at him with wide eyes. "Miroku, do you understand what that means?"

He stared at her for the moment—how odd it was she was taking care of him. It was so_ motherly_ and he was used to being the oldest person in their group. He shook his head slowly to answer her question.

Dr. Caligari pursed his lips and nodded slowly. He scooted closer to Miroku as he put his clipboard aside. "I'd like to do an echocardiogram to make sure and perhaps determine the width of the valve area…" He looked at Miroku, who was still slightly shorter than the doctor even though he was sitting up higher on the paper covered table. The man stuck out his large, thick hand and placed it on the young monk's which sat at his side. Miroku was a bit shocked by the touch—he'd already been told that the doctor came from a more hands-on society on a little boot-shaped country west of Japan—but he wasn't prepared to be socially touched by the stranger. He allowed the man's heavy hand to rest on his despite his confusion at how to accept the gesture.

The heeler squeezed his hand as he began. "Miroku your heart has one large artery that carries all your blood to the rest of your body. This is the aorta. It is a very necessary part of your life functions."

Miroku nodded. He knew where this artery was—though he'd never heard the name before. He'd used it once in a bad situation. He hadn't wished to, but he'd been thorough in his training and learned of the places on the body that were weak and that would bleed someone out the fastest. The hand did not leave his, and Miroku found himself watching the larger man's chin as he spoke.

"In the case of aortic valve stenosis…the opening for this crucial artery has narrowed, causing it to not only provide inadequate oxygen to your body, but also putting stress on your heart. It is very rare in younger people, but you seem to be one of the lucky few Miroku." This last part almost sounded like the professional doctor was irritated at his patient's luck. The monk knew he liked this man.

Miroku took a deep breath in, the released it. "So," he said. His gaze dropped to the meaty hand on his. "Can we fix it?"

The large doctor nodded. "There are treatment options, yes. But, first I'd like to see how far along we are."

"When can he get that echocardiogram?" Kagome piped in from beside the table.

Dr. Caligari nodded and stood, retrieving a form from a small box on the wall. It was next to a map of the human heart. Miroku watched as the meaty hands filled out the form. The large man muttered as he wrote out his orders.

"If we can make a day of it, I'd like to do that. Are you free for the rest of the afternoon?" He looked up to the young monk and his "cousin."

Kagome answered for them. "Yes, we can be here."

He nodded and Miroku felt he was on a whirlwind. "Well, you'll need to hop on over to the building beside this one. Go to radiology and give them this form. They should be able to take you within the next hour."

Miroku couldn't help but wonder how many times they might go back and forth today.

* * *

"We are here." Shippo stood beside Ueda as he took in his surroundings. The older panther youkai waved his hand to their right, indicating a spot behind a boulder. "Please stand behind that."

Shippo raised his eyebrows but proceeded to guide Sumi behind the large rock with a touch to her elbow. They had come to a stone wall of a mountainside with seemingly little edges or divots to use for climbing. Shippo could get up the mountain by changing form, but he wasn't sure how the panther might accomplish this or why they had been instructed to stand behind a boulder.

The black-skinned male looked in their direction; making sure the two were fully behind the rock, Shippo assumed. He turned back to the rock face and took in a large breath, puffing out his chest. Shippo was vaguely aware Sumi had pressed her side to his, her hip alongside his own. Ueda suddenly let out a loud feline cry at a decibel which made the fox youkai's ears ring. Shippo felt himself wince against the pain. The rock face which had seemed so solid before began to lose…density? Yes, to the kit it nearly seemed that the solid surface was dwindling away. As it faded, a large cave mouth became visible.

Ueda smiled to himself then beckoned for his companions to come. Sumi was the first to step out from behind the boulder, Shippo trailing along behind.

"Nifty trick." Shippo mumbled as he poked a finger into his ear, wriggling it against the ringing sound.

The older male laughed. "Yes well, it only responds to my mate's and my cries—well also our family members."

The fox's eyes flicked to the boulder Sumi and he had been behind. "And, uh that?" He thumbed toward the stone.

"The spell will cause you to pass-out if you do not remain behind the safe zone when I call." He grinned toothily at the other youkai. "It is to prevent someone from unwillingly using one of us to get inside. We just remember to tell guests to stand behind that rock."

Shippo nodded—thinking that Ueda was strange indeed and rather paranoid.

Sumi seemed unfazed by the previous display. If she could have vocalized it in their language, she would have told them she herself kept a similar spell over her own home.

"Well inside then."

It took few moments to get Sumi into the raised cave mouth. The thin woman seemed to have lost a significant amount of upper bodyweight, and her legs had less strength than she was used to. Shippo had to hold back laughter several times when he could hear the woman mumble a word in her language he was certain was a cuss word. She was consistent though, having picked one curse to be her favorite over others it would seem.

Once the odd group of three clamored up into the shelf that was the entrance to Ueda's home, stillness overcame the panther youkai. He sniffed at the air and his shoulders grew tense at the same time his face took on an expression of annoyance. He allowed himself a small step forward as Shippo helped Sumi up the last step into the mouth. He slowly lifted his upper lip and drew in a long breath to scent at the air again.

"What's the—"

Shippo was cut off by a silent motion from the panther. Ueda sniffed once more, the line between his brows growing more distinct.

"Shippo…tell me what you can smell, please?" The older youkai asked the younger with a quiet, even tone.

Nodding, the fox stepped in beside Ueda and inhaled deeply. He pulled back almost immediately, covering his nose as he did so.

Ueda was in his line of sight instantly. "What? What is it?"

Shippo wrinkled his nose and huffed into his hand. "Fuck that's strong!"

"What's strong?" There were heavy hands on the kit's shoulders now, squeezing.

"Uh," Shippo shook his head. "I think your mate has given birth."


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Alright, so this chapter is short. However, the next isn't too far off...and I get a sense that this chapter might answer or provoke more questions. It felt as if it should be on its own rather than paired with a Shippo segment.

* * *

In a couple hours he was to hop back down the well and let Kaede and Shippo know about them staying longer in Kagome's time. In a couple hours he could take a sigh of relief at being back in his familiar time. For now though, he wore Souta's dumb ball cap as he made his way through the slicked halls of the healer's giant…uh hut? He couldn't remember the name, but he remembered where that Sue girl was sleeping.

He rounded the corner into the hallway where she was being kept and neglected to sign in at the nurse's station. A large orderly stopped him promptly once in the ward.

"Excuse me, but you need to sign in."

"I'm here to see Sue."

The man blinked—obviously not used to anyone contradicting him. "Uh…well that's fine, but all visitors need to sign in."

"I was here last night," Inuyasha insisted.

"Great." The man crossed his arms and frowned. "You still need to _sign in_."

The hanyou rolled his eyes, but turned to the counter beside where he'd been stopped, found a sheet of paper with "Visitor Sign In" at the top. He scribbled his name as best he could—never learned how to write all fancy like Kagome, but he could read damn it—then once again tried to make his way past the annoying orderly.

He was once again stopped with a hand help up to his face. Inuyasha felt himself scowl. "What the crap now?"

This man seemed to be enjoying this now. "What's that at your side?"

The silver-haired male was confused for a moment then looked down to the sword which bumped at his jean-clad hip. "Oh this…" He was at a loss. How to you explain that if you didn't carry it, you'd be the bigger threat without the sword? How was this modern human _idiot_ supposed to understand that he knew he might be on edge today with his best friend's doctor's appointment weighing on his shoulders? How do you tell someone that after yesterday's close call he wanted to carry the motherfucker with him at all times even in this stupid time era?

"Yeah that. Is that a sword?"

Inuyasha tried to determine what would be the best course of action. Should he lie? Should he run? Which way? Should he tell the truth?

"Uh, yeah it is." Apparently, he'd decided on the latter.

"Uh huh. You know we do not permit weapons in this ward."

The amber eyes narrowed as the hanyou thought about his comeback. Then they relaxed back into their normal half-pissed off expression. "Yeah, but this isn't real."

The orderly blinked and shuffled in his purple scrubs. "But…you just said—"

"It's a stage sword. I have rehearsal right after this and I can't really run home in time to get it. Its not sharp at all."

Wow, he was proud of himself. Maybe he was finally learning some finesse. He silently thanked Kagome for talking his ear off about her senior play a couple years ago.

The man in front of him looked utterly perplexed. "Um…okay I guess that's okay."

_Damn right it is,_ Inuyasha thought but kept from saying aloud.

He was about to open his mouth to excuse himself from the presence of this idiot, when he suddenly heard a long high pitched beep. The orderly in front of him turned toward the sound down the hall, and two nurses from behind the counter suddenly ran forward.

"Room 322," one called out as they hustled to the end of the hall.

Inuyasha didn't understand what the sound meant, but he knew it was never good when healers ran like that. He once saw old Kaede run—it was the day three kids had been caught in a landslide. It was a run that meant healers were in a hurry—healers in a hurry was never good. And they were running to _Sue's_ room.

He bolted past the orderly, nearly knocking him over in the process. He leapt past the two nurses, easily bypassing them and sprinting into the room before they did.

The dark blonde woman was straddling the window sill with one leg outside on a ledge of a sort, with the other in the room itself. Her light gown billowed around her, exposing her backside with every few gusts of wind. She stopped her movements when he rushed into the room ahead of the others and her eyes fell to meet his. Inuyasha knew she was trying to hop out the window.

"Inuyasha!" The woman sounded startled but very familiar with him. Had he ever told her his name?

"Hey now." He put his hands up in the air. "Why don't you come back inside?"

Her face looked almost relieved to see him, but he couldn't fathom why. "Come on, we need to go."

He felt his nose crinkle. Was she crazy? "No, no. Sue, you need to come back inside and get back into bed."

She stared at him incredulously for a second, the shook her head quickly. "Where are the others?" Her Japanese was flawless.

"Others?" Where had he seen that expression before? He stepped forward with his hand held out. "We can talk inside." He could hear the nurses' footsteps finally catching up.

She lowered her gaze then flicked her eyes to the door. "Inuyasha, let's get out of here _now_."

For some reason, Inuyasha desperately wanted to follow her order. It was something in her tone, and he knew it was the inu in him. The inu wanted to follow her lead. What would make it want to do that?

A nurse pounded into the room, then stopped short when she saw that the machine was flat-lining not because her patient was dying, but because she had unhooked herself.

"Inuyasha, they had things _inside me_." The woman widened her eyes at him in need. "Please let's get out!"

There is was again, and Inuyasha felt himself frozen from his youkai side. His dog side. The side which automatically followed the alpha.

_What the hell? I _am_ the alpha!_

Not to _her_…

It was then that Inuyasha took in a deep breath—as if scent might confirm to him what his primal brain was telling him, but of course it couldn't. This wasn't her body after all.

At one last look from the wide pleading eyes—but strong; still insanely willful and strong—he leapt past the bed, past the horrible beeping machine, and through the window. He captured her in his arms as he flew through the sill, and hauled her with him onto the roof. She quickly righted herself so that she was riding piggy-back just as Kagome used to. She held on with her legs and arms like a pro as he hopped from this building to a smaller one across the street.

He growled out as he leapt into a crevice between two buildings which _could_ be called an alley, but for the lack of width.

"You're a pain in my ass, Sango."


	29. Chapter 29

Shippo watched as Ueda bounded to the back of the cave, which was out of sight for the fox, too deeply nestled into the shadows. Sumi stood by, a hand over her nose. He wasn't sure how strong her sense of smell was, but he suspected even humans could smell this. It wasn't just Ueda's youkai senses that were diminishing, Shippo realized. It was even stunting him beyond average human ability. The young kit now understood why Ueda left when he did. Perhaps, had the male panther stayed longer under such conditions, he would have lost _everything_.

Then the cry from the back of the cave—Shippo felt his ribs tighten at the sound. He felt his ears try to lay back, even in his humanoid form. It was not a cry from a babe, but from an adult panther youkai.

His feet were running before he could tell them too, and he felt Sumi following just behind him into the shadows. It was cool in this back section of the cave, Shippo felt his skin prickle. The smells of blood and other body fluids were much stronger from back here, and it took just a moment for Shippo's eyes to adjust.

Sumi saw it first. He heard her gasp from beside him, and his body turned rigid. She rushed ahead of the fox, ensnaring a dark figure in her arms. She managed to pull Ueda back somehow—Shippo figured the older male must have been in shock to be manhandled by a weak Sumi.

"No…" Ueda seemed to struggle with his voice, the one word he managed was harsh and forced.

Shippo took a tentative step forward, the scent again assaulting his nose. As he crept closer he could make out a humanoid form slumped against the cave's back wall and floor. It looked like a horribly uncomfortable angle, but the young fox youkai feared the person may no longer care.

He heard a disturbing growl from behind him as Ueda broke free of Sumi's hold. The black panther seemed to melt into the darkness as he approached next to Shippo, and the teen felt a distinct shoulder bump from the big man. It clearly said _get away._

He scurried back from Ueda's territory and watched as the shadow of the tall youkai stretched along the wall until it made contact with the other figure's. Sumi stepped up to his side and clasped his hand in hers, seemingly forfeiting her earlier no touching stance. He heard her murmur under her breath, but he was certain it was in her own language and not his.

Ueda's voice broke from several yards away. "Morita…" A low sob drowned out of him. "Morita, no."

Shippo felt his ears perk at the pitch of the panther's voice, and his heart drop in his chest at the implications. "Is she—"

"Shhhh," he felt Sumi disconnect herself from him and step into the darkness where the smell of birth, and heavy blood wafted from. He didn't know what she intended, but we was at a total loss as he heard Ueda's soft words roll into a mournful yowling. The sound began to physically hurt his head, echoing off the walls, and he had to take a few steps back.

There was a small grunt from Sumi and a soft shuffling sound. "Shhh…shhhh," he could hear from the darkness. Instinctively, Shippo reached into his belt pack, but remembered it was filled with stones—until he brushed his fingers over a tiny flashlight. His pack. Ueda must have restored it when he retrieved his clothes, and he hadn't even noticed it. He grasped the small torch, and pulled it from the sack. It grew in size as it was removed, much like Inuyasha's sword.

When he clicked it on he wished he hadn't.

There was blood everywhere. Not just small splatters, but large splashes across the walls and rivers pooling lazily on the floor. He trailed his beam of light to the figure slumped against the far wall, and saw why Ueda was crying. Shippo could see who he assumed was the panther's beloved mate, legs splayed wide, afterbirth discarded nearby, and large slashes across her chest and neck, but no sign of an infant. Her head was cocked at an odd angle, and he could see one particularly deep gash on her neck was still sluggishly pulsing her life blood. He didn't know if Ueda recognized this, but his mate was still living.

"Ueda, she—she's still alive." He felt he needed to press the issue in case her mate could help her.

The male youkai's voice dropped off suddenly into a croak, and he dropped to one knee to turn Morita's face to his. Her eyes seemed to flutter open lazily, and she seemed to hold some recognition but did not speak. He mouth moved up and down slowly, but there was no sound. Shippo was not surprised at the damage to her throat.

"Morita, Morita stay please." Ueda pleaded with his mate as he held her head to his chest and wept openly in front of them.

"Shhh shhh." Sumi once again stepped up, but the kitsune was surprised to see her take the female youkai's hand in hers, then bow her head. Was she praying over her?

A small light emanated from the skin to skin contact between the two women, and Shippo saw Ueda step back when the glow became a moderate spark. The man didn't let go of his mate's head, which he still cradled at a more comfortable angle, but his feet shuffled away none-the-less. In the split second after the spark, while the panther reacted, Sumi collapsed to the floor of the cave.

"S-Sumi?" Shippo rushed in then, not carrying at that moment that he may trample Ueda's dying mate—

The beam of light from Kagome's era cast over the female feline and Shippo stopped dead. Her neck. Her dark skin was flawless. Covered in blood—yes. But, the was no deep slash across her throat. The redhead directed his light to her chest and saw the same. Flawless. The garments she'd been wearing we shredded and stained so heavily with her blood that Shippo could not decipher the original color or pattern. But she was whole.

Morita swallowed; her throat seemingly functional.

The young teen glanced to the older male who looked just as shocked as him, but worlds more grateful as he held his living mate in his arms. Shippo bent to where Sumi lay and ran a light hand over her forehead. She was slightly warm, but her breathing was steady and strong. It looked as though she had simply fainted. The boy looked between the young woman and the feline and knew Sumi was so much more than they'd previously expected.

* * *

"I can explain."

"Just shut up for now."

"But I truly need to—"

"Shut up, Sango."

The white-haired hanyou stood in front of the microwave, waiting for his noodle cup to finish cooking. He needed carbs if he was gonna be able to handle this bullshit. His nose was very nearly pressed to the glass as he considered what he knew about the situation.

Which was nothing. Fucking nothing.

The American—no, the new _Sango, _seemed to give up for now, sat at the kitchen table, and began to drum her fingers along the dark wood. She was still dressed in her thin hospital gown and nothing else. Inuyasha noted that she had goosebumps along her pale arms and snorted to himself as he turned back to his food. Served her right. Confusing the fuck out of him. She could just be cold for a while.

When the ding came from the microwave, Inuyasha quickly opened the door and swiped the cup out in one smooth motion. With another quick movement, he closed the door and grabbed something he'd newly discovered and _loved_—the spork.

He sat at the table with a humph, took a large bite of his steaming meal, then locked eyes with the woman across from him. She patiently nodded.

"Okay. Go."

The woman threaded her fingers together, took a breath, then began: "I _had_ to use her body because I needed to talk to you, and I had no way to in our time because I am being held captive."

Inuyasha stopped eating. "Wait but, we just saw you."

Sango shook her head, and honey brown hair dipped in front of her eyes. "No, that wasn't me. It was fox youkai." She sighed. "My brother is…troublesome."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows. "Kohaku is alive?"

She nodded, then stopped herself. "Sort of."

The hanyou looked away for a moment and scratched his head. "And you? Where are you now? Does your brother have you?"

She nodded again. "I haven't been awake for nearly a week, Inuyasha—at least not solidly. I recall waking for short periods when I am moved."

"Where are they moving you."

The woman shrugged and clasped her hands together once more. "This I do not know. I do not even know why he holds me against my will, except that I was about to reveal him to you." She looked up suddenly, the green eyes flashing. "Inuyasha. They are collecting youkai."

The inu growled and his head lowered into a more menacing position. "Slavers?"

She shook her head. "No—at least I don't think so. He seems to want specific types. Youkai for specific function."

"Why would he—an army?" It dawned on him as his eyebrows flew into his bangs.

"Perhaps," she thought on this before continuing. "Or a spell."

"A spell?" His food, nearly forgotten had become cool. He shoved a mouthful into his pie hole before he spoke. "Why would anyone collect youkai for a spell?"

Sango simply looked at him for a moment as he gulped down more noodles and broth.

"Components, Inuyasha."

The young man dropped his spork into the noodle cup before swallowing what remained in his mouth. "You mean kill 'em?"

"Quite likely," her green eyes looked mournful.

"Hmm." He looked out the kitchen window and caught sight of Kagome and his tree. Everything looked so peaceful outside. He supposed he must have been an idiot to think anything like that could last for long. They'd been too long without someone nipping at their heels after all.

His eyes slid back to his friend in the borrowed body. "So, what kind of spell would need _components_ like this?"

"I have no idea."

"The how do you know it is even a spell, Sango?"

She looked at him solemnly. "I don't, but I expect it to be the case."

"Why?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Because my brother went to so much trouble to find a living nagual. And brought her to Japan—probably from across the world."

Inuyasha poured the last of his noodle cup—which was mostly broth—down his throat and licked his lips. "What's that?"

Sango looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. "I'm surprised you don't know. Naguals are basically a species bestial witches. Powerful ones. Legend has it that they began as regular humans, and managed to completely negate the rules of nature to become like—well kind of like youkai."

He might have been a bit shocked. "Uh…yeah. Might be casting a spell then."

"Right." She nodded. "Only naguals are pretty independent. I'm surprised one would work for my brother."

"You _brother_ is the ring leader?" Inuyasha felt like he might need a nap.

"I am…unsure." She focused her attention on her fingernails. "But, I know he is the one gathering all the youkai. I know he is the one who sailed across the largest sea just to get her."

"Awesome."

There was a pause in the conversation that seemed to go on forever. Inuyasha toyed with his cup, twirling it idly on the table, then chewed on his plastic spork before he decided to break the silence.

"So Shippo might have a girlfriend."


End file.
